5 killed in fire at Bangladesh coronavirus treatment tent

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Fire swept through a through a unit of a hospital in an upscale area of the Bangladeshi capital to treat people infected with the coronavirus, killing five people, an official said Wednesday.

The fire started at about 10 p.m. at the United Hospital Ltd. in Dhaka’s Gulshan area, where many diplomatic missions and corporate offices are located, said Quamrul Islam, an official with the city’s Fire Service and Civil Defence agency.

Firefighters recovered the bodies of four men and one woman after the blaze was controlled, Islam said.

The cause was under investigation, but the country’s leading Bengali-language Prohom Alo newspaper said an air-conditioning system exploded.

Bangladesh on Wednesday had 38,292 coronavirus cases including 544 deaths.