Fire Destroys 1,500 Homes in Dhaka’s Korail Slum, Leaving Thousands Homeless

A massive fire swept through the Korail slum in the heart of Dhaka, destroying around 1,500 shanties and leaving thousands of residents without homes, officials said on Wednesday. The blaze, which started on Tuesday evening, raged for nearly 16 hours before firefighters managed to bring it under control.

Authorities said no casualties had been reported, though the scale of destruction has left families devastated and scrambling to recover what little remains of their belongings. Rashed Bin Khalid, a duty officer at the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defense, confirmed that the fire was extinguished on Wednesday morning.

Lt. Col. Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, director of the fire service, said approximately 1,500 makeshift homes had been burned or severely damaged. “Thousands of people are now displaced,” he said, noting that many residents spent the morning searching through charred debris in hopes of salvaging valuables.

Korail is one of Bangladesh’s largest and most densely populated slums, spanning more than 160 acres between Dhaka’s affluent Gulshan and Banani neighborhoods. According to official figures, about 60,000 families live in the settlement, many of them climate migrants who moved to the capital after losing land or livelihoods to flooding, river erosion and other environmental pressures.

Firefighters reported difficulties reaching the area because of the slum’s narrow alleys, which prevented engines and equipment from moving in quickly. Heavy smoke filled the air overnight as flames spread through clusters of bamboo-and-tin dwellings packed tightly together, accelerating the blaze.

Residents who lost everything described scenes of chaos as the fire rapidly engulfed their homes. By Wednesday morning, families sifted through ashes, lifting corrugated metal sheets and fragments of collapsed structures to recover documents, cooking pots or clothing. Several stood on the banks of Gulshan Lake, which borders the slum, watching as firefighters continued damping down the ruins.

Dhaka, home to more than 10 million people, has seen repeated fires in its sprawling slum communities, where safety standards are low and access for emergency services is limited. Many families in Korail work as day laborers, domestic workers, drivers and cleaners, earning just enough to survive in the capital’s informal settlements.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and authorities said an investigation would begin once the site cools. For now, thousands of residents remain in makeshift shelters or on nearby streets, waiting for relief support and uncertain about when—or whether—they will be able to rebuild.