At least 44 people, including 26 women and three children, died after a fire broke out at the seven-storey Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall in Bangladesh capital Dhaka on Thursday.

Of the deceased, 33 died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and 10 in Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, said Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen told reporters as quoted by Dhaka Tribune.

Firefighters rescued 70 people from the rooftop and other floors of the multistoried building.

According to reports, 42 rescued people were in an unconscious state.

Thirteen units of Fire Service worked for nearly two hours to bring the flames under control.

What might have caused the fire?

Brig Gen Main Uddin, director general of Fire Service and Civil Defence told The Daily Star that cooking gas cylinders were found in almost every floor of the building.

He said a stove or a gas tank could have caused the fire.

There were only two lifts and a staircase in the building with no emergency exit and other safety issues, a senior fire service official told the Bangladesh-based newspaper.

The Border Guard Bangladesh also participated in the rescue operation.

People jumped from the building to save themselves

An employee of a restaurant, which is located in the building, said he saw many people jumping from the top floors of the structure in a desperate attempt to save themselves.

"I even saw people jumping from the building, including my colleague Shakil," Md Siam, who worked in one of the restaurants in the building, told The Daily Star.

He said, "We initially learned about the fire when it was on the first floor. We hurried to the rooftop, where around 30 people were waiting for rescue. The fire service officials used a ladder to reach the rooftop and bring us down safely."

Fire incidents are common in densely populated Dhaka city.

Recent fire tragedy

A deadly fire broke out at a food processing factory outside Dhaka in 2021 which left at least 54 people dead.