Chittagong, Bangladesh (BBN) – Five people, including four of a family, were suffocated to death when a fire broke out at a building in the country’s port city early Thursday.

The victims were the top floor residents of the four-storey building at Road-1 of Block-A in Chandgaon of the city.
 
The fire originated in a department store named ‘Bhai Bhai Corner’ housed on the ground floor of the building around 2:55am (local time) from an electric short circuit, according to reports.

Huge smoke engulfed the building when the gas cylinder of a microbus exploded after the fire spread to the adjacent garage of the same building.

On information, firefighters rushed to the spot and put out the blaze after two hours of frantic efforts.

All the deaths were caused by suffocation due to smoke, a duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters in Agrabad of Chittagong reportedly said.

BBN/SSR/AD-12Jan12-11:13 am (BST)