DHAKA: At least 10 people were killed and nine injured on Saturday in a fire at a seaside resort in the south-eastern Bangladeshi district of Cox's Bazar, officials said.
The fire broke out around 6:30 am on Saturday at TUPTUP Resto and Resort in Inani, Cox's Bazar, according to Mohammad Atikur Rahman Majumder, chief of Ukhiya Police Station.
Ten people were killed, and nine were injured, Fire Service spokesman Talha Bin Zasim confirmed the death toll around 1:30 pm, hours after the blaze broke out at the resort near Patuartek Beach along Marine Drive.
The nine injured have been admitted to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital, bdnews 24 reported.
Sabuktagin Mahmud Sohel, resident medical officer at Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital, said five of the injured had burns covering around 5 per cent of their bodies.
"The other person was injured in a fall and was discharged after receiving first aid.
All five burn patients have been admitted to hospital," he said.
The three-storey resort, built mainly of bamboo and wood, is about 29km from Kolatoli, near the entrance to the beach town.
Around 30 people were reportedly at the resort when the fire broke out.
Four to five people escaped, but the Dhaka Tribune reported that the whereabouts and condition of the others remain unknown.
Syed Muhammad Morshed Hossain, deputy assistant director of the Cox's Bazar Fire Service, said the blaze had gutted the entire structure.
Cox's Bazar Deputy Commissioner A Mannan said six bodies had been recovered so far and that DNA samples would be collected before they were returned to their families.
The cause of the fire remains unknown.
Mannan said the Fire Service was investigating, adding that some people suspected the blaze might have started in the resort's kitchen.
However, the cause could not be established until the investigation was complete.