Fire incidents were reported from Lalbagh, Tejgaon, Sadarghat and Mohammadpur areas in Dhaka in the early hours of Sunday due to the use of sky lanterns for New Year celebrations, according to Fire Service.
Besides, the Adabar area of the city faced a blackout as lanterns fell on electrical lines and fire spread on the wires around 12am, said Fire Service and Civil Defence Control Room Duty Officer Ershad Hossain.
However, no injuries or causalities were reported.
In Sadarghat, a fire broke out at the hawkers' market from a sky lantern that fell from a nearby building. Later, two units of firefighters rushed to the spot, but it was doused by locals.
The fire broke out in a building at Lalbagh and another building at Tajgaon which were also doused soon.
However, the fire that broke out in a multi-storied building at Mohammadpur was massive and firefighters doused the fire after a frantic effort, said the duty officer.
Meanwhile, a fire broke out in the Adabar area as a lantern fell on an electric line, causing a blackout in the entire area, he added. “It is not known whether electricity supply was restored there or not.”
Last year, around 10 fire incidents were reported on the 31st Night.
Dhaka dwellers used firecrackers and flew sky lanterns (fanush) on the 31st night despite Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s (DMP) restrictions.
