Korail fire completely doused after over 16 hours, no casualties reported
Residents described it as the largest fire in recent memory
The Korail slum, near the capital's Mohakhali-Gulshan area and often hit by fire incidents, was once again engulfed in massive flames today (25 November). A total of 19 fire units worked at the scene and brought the flame under control after more than five hours.
9:50am 26 Nov
The fire was completely doused around 9:30am, said Fire Service officials. No casualties have been reported so far.
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Also, the cause of the fire can be known after investigation, said the Fire Service.
10:45pm
The fire has been brought under control at 10:35pm, Fire Service officials said.
10:05pm
Red Crescent volunteers provide first aid to victims
Red Crescent volunteers are seen providing first aid to victims affected by the incident.
They worked quickly to treat minor injuries and offer immediate support to those in distress.
9:40pm
Residents of Korail slum take shelter at Ershad field
Residents of Korail slum gather at Ershad Math (field) after the massive fire forces them to flee their homes.
Families sit with whatever belongings they could salvage, waiting for safety updates and emergency assistance.
9:30pm
Slum dweller Marium and her son managed to save only the most valuable item from their shanty, a freezer.
"We couldn't save anything else. The only thing we managed to get out of the shanty was the freezer; everything else was engulfed," said Marium, who has been living in Korail for the past 15 years.
9:15pm
Two children reportedly went missing amid the chaos caused by the massive fire in the slum. A man was seen pleading with the public to help find them, saying their mother is in tears.
Md Monir, a physically challenged resident, managed to escape the blaze with the help of his son, Hridoy, who rescued him before their shanty was engulfed.
Monir recounted that in his 25 years in the slum, he has witnessed fire incidents at least 20 times, highlighting the recurring danger faced by residents.
9pm
The fire is spiraling out of control, particularly in the eastern part of the slum, according to fire service.
It has spread from the west, crossing the Boubazar area, and now engulfs the entire settlement, officials said.
8:30pm
Residents described it as the largest fire in recent memory. While no casualties have been reported so far, hundreds of homes have been reduced to ashes.
Firefighters said they are struggling to contain the blaze due to a shortage of water.
To combat the fire, three generators have been set up along the banks of Gulshan Lake and nearby canals, and multiple water pipes have been connected to these generators to aid in firefighting efforts.
6:20pm
The Fire Service and Civil Defence control room said they received the report of the blaze at 5:22pm this evening.
Following the alert, a total of 19 fire units have been deployed. Of them, 11 units are currently working to bring the blaze under control, while eight more units are on the way to the scene.
Earlier, the slum last caught fire on the night of 22 February this year, when 10 units of the fire service managed to douse the flames. In that incident, 61 houses were burnt.
Two months before that, on 18 December 2024, another fire broke out in the slum, which was brought under control with efforts from seven fire service units.
According to various research reports, this is one of Dhaka's oldest slums, covering an area of around 90 acres and home to at least 80,000 residents.
Due to its narrow alleys and densely built structures, firefighters often face difficulties in controlling fires in Korail.
Korail spreads across about 99 acres of land, tucked under wards 19 and 20 of Dhaka North City Corporation.
The slum can also be accessed by water across Gulshan Lake.
According to a recent Nagarabad survey, around 60,000 families live here, most in single-room homes barely spanning 14 square metres, shared by up to eight people.
The walls are tin, sometimes bamboo, sometimes patched with whatever material the residents can find. Many came from other districts — displaced by river erosion, or simply looking for work.
Life here sits on the edge of permanence and uncertainty. Fires, floods and eviction drives have long been part of Korail's story.
According to a 2022 policy brief by Buet, 87,606 people per square kilometre live here. The 2011 census says more than 40 thousand people were living inside the slum. In the last 13 years, if there has been at least a 10,000 increase in population, more than 50,000 people are living in Korail now. If we divide the 90-acre land by 50000, it is around 78 square feet per person, which is less than the minimum space required for a person.
UN Habitat suggests that a minimum of 9 square metres (97 square feet) per person is necessary to meet basic needs, while the UNHCR Emergency Shelter Standards suggest 3.5 to 5.5 square metres (37.7 to 59 square feet) per person in emergency situations like refugee camps.
