Wedding party among those charred in the fire that raced through several buildings <table style="width: 125px; height: 172px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="125" align="right" border="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td><img alt="" src="/imagedata/2010/jun/dhakafire.jpg" border="0" /></td></tr> <tr> <td> Lives charred: Relatives mourn at the site of the fire. Pic/AFP</td></tr></tbody></table>At least 88 people were burnt alive, mostly women and children, while 100 others critically wounded last night as a deadly fire raced through several apartment complexes in the Bangladeshi capital, apparently after a transformer explosion, officials said. Twenty fire service units have managed to extinguish the blaze. "We have now recovered at least 88 dead bodies. The bodies have been sent to various hospitals in the capital," said Dhaka Police Chief A K M Shahidul Haq. He added that the fire raged for three hours before it could be extinguished by firefighters. "We are searching every inch of the building, which may take hours," said Abu Nayeem, the fire department chief. He added that a wedding party was being held in one of the buildings and "we think this is why the number of casualties is so high." Nayeem added that highly flammable chemicals in a number of small shops had fuelled the flame. "It appears hell has come down here. We see the rescuers are retrieving burnt bodies one after another from the ruptured structures using search lights for want of electricity," an eyewitness said. An explosion in an electric transformer apparently sparked the blaze at around 10 pm and it quickly engulfed a small plastic factory and four other multi-storied buildings and adjacent shops sending the flames some 300 feet into the sky, a fire brigade official said. Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina has expressed her deep shock over the tragedy. She has asked the concerned government agencies to expedite a rescue campaign and provide proper treatment to the injured. Dhaka Mayor Sadek Hossain, Health Minister Ruhal Haque and several government leaders were overseeing the rescue operations and the hospital arrangements.

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Wedding party among those charred in the fire that raced through several buildings

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