Bangladesh fire: At least 43 people dead in shopping mall blaze

At least 43 people have died in a fire that broke out at a six-storey shopping mall fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Health minister Samanta Lal Sen said that the blaze broke out late on Thursday at a restaurant in the Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall, and quickly spread to other floors, reports Sky News. 

By Friday morning, at least 43 had died and 22 others were left with severe burns and were in a critical condition. They are being treated at two major health facilities.

Mr Sen said at 33 people, including women and children, were declared dead at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, while at least 10 others died after being taken to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

The cause of the fire has not immediately been determined, but Brigadier General Main Uddin, Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence director, said it could have originated from a gas leak or stove.

He said: "It was a dangerous building with gas cylinders on every floor, even on the staircases."

The force director also added that more than a dozen firefighting units were deployed to douse the fire.

At least 75 people, including 42 who were unconscious, were rescued from the building, rescuers said.