Massive Dhaka slum fire displaces 50,000

About 15,000 houses were destroyed in the Chalantika slum late on Friday leaving 50,000 people homeless. No deaths have been reported, although several people were injured.

Dhaka:A massive fire has ravaged a slum in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka, leaving 50,000 people homeless, the media reported.

About 15,000 houses were destroyed in the Chalantika slum late on Friday.

Many houses had plastic roofs, which helped the flames to spread. No deaths have been reported, although several people were injured, authorities said.

Most of the residents are low-wage earners and many were away after the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire.

Firefighters took more than six hours to put out the flames.

In February, a fire in Dhaka killed about 80 people, and nine died in another blaze in a slum in the coastal city of Chittagong.