Image copyright AFP Image caption Officials say a short circuit may have caused the blaze

At least nine people have died after a fire swept through more than 200 slum dwellings in the coastal Bangladeshi city of Chittagong.

Police and firefighters say more than 50 other people were injured.

Four members of one family were among the victims, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

Fire officials are investigating the possibility that a short circuit caused the blaze. Bangladesh has a poor fire safety record.

Officials said the fire began in the Bhera Market slum at about 03:30 local time (21:30 GMT)

It took about five hours to bring the blaze under control.</s>At least nine people have died after a fire swept through more than 200 slum dwellings in the coastal Bangladeshi city of Chittagong.

Police and firefighters say more than 50 other people were injured.

Four members of one family were among the victims, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

Fire officials are investigating the possibility that a short circuit caused the blaze. Bangladesh has a poor fire safety record.
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Officials said the fire began in the Bhera Market slum at about 03:30 local time (21:30 GMT)

It took about five hours to bring the blaze under control.</s>CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh: A fire tore through a slum in southern Bangladesh on Sunday (Feb 17), killing at least nine people and destroying hundreds of shanty homes, police said.

The blaze broke out in the port city of Chittagong at about 3.30am and raced through the district of bamboo, tin and tarpaulin homes, said local police chief Pranab Chowdhury.

"At least 470 shanties were destroyed by the fire. So far nine people have died. They included four members of a family," fire brigade official Hefazatul Islam told AFP.

Fires regularly break out in Bangladesh's slums, where millions live in squalid living conditions.

Rights groups have in the past alleged some shanty town blazes were deliberate acts of sabotage by developers seeking to free up property to construct multi-storey buildings.

"We have seen fires are used as a weapon to evict poor slum dwellers and squatters from government or private property," rights activist Nur Khan Liton told AFP.</s>A fire official says a devastating blaze that raced through a crammed slum in southeastern Bangladesh has left at least nine people dead and several others injured.

The official, Jasim Uddin, said the fire broke out early Sunday in the Chaktai area of Chittagong city while the slum dwellers were asleep.

Uddin says four of the dead were from a single family, and that at least 200 shanty homes were gutted before firefighters brought the blaze under control.

He says the cause of the fire is not yet known and an investigation has been ordered.

Chittagong is 216 kilometers (134 miles) southeast of the capital, Dhaka.</s>CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (Reuters) - A fire gutted more than 200 slum houses in the Bangladeshi port of Chittagong on Sunday, killing at least eight people and injuring more than 50, police and fire fighters said.

A fire official said the fire may have been caused by a short circuit.

Bangladesh is an impoverished country where safety regulations are rarely followed and accidents kill hundreds every year.

In 2013, the Rana Plaza factory collapse killed more than 1,100 garment workers.</s>DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A devastating blaze raced through a crammed slum in southeastern Bangladesh on Sunday, killing at least nine people and injuring several others, a fire official said.

The fire broke out early in the morning in the Chaktai area of Chittagong city while the slum dwellers were asleep, said the official, Jasim Uddin.

At least 200 shanty homes were gutted before firefighters brought the blaze under control, Uddin said, adding that four of the dead were from a single family.

He said the cause of the fire was not yet known and that an investigation was ordered.

Chittagong is 216 kilometers (134 miles) southeast of the capital, Dhaka.</s>The blaze broke out in the port city of Chittagong at about 3.30am and raced through the district of bamboo, tin and tarpaulin homes, said local police chief Pranab Chowdhury.</s>A rejuvenated Martin Guptill wound back the clock with his second century in as many games as a clinical New Zealand clinched their one-day series against Bangladesh in Christchurch on Saturday.

The long-serving opener, who had a disappointing recent series against India, rated his 118 as a more satisfying knock than the unbeaten 117 when he returned to form in the first match against Bangladesh.

"There was a lot of flow and rhythm in that one," he said after New Zealand comfortably knocked off their 227-run target for the loss of two wickets and with 13.5 overs to spare.

"It felt like I got back to where I was a couple of years ago."

Guptill cut, drove and pulled the Bangladesh attack apart as New Zealand cruised to victory and went 2-0 up in the three-match series.

With the World Cup looming, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was pleased to see his side had taken lessons from the 4-1 drubbing inflicted by India.

"It was what we were wanting," he said.

"That was a really tough series and (the) guys got taught some harsh lessons and it's important you learn from those.

"Today and in the last game there were a couple of nice performances obviously led by Martin Guptill."

Against India's tight bowling, Guptill was restricted to a top score of 15.

But against a less confining Bangladesh attack, he scored freely, with 14 fours and four sixes from the 88 deliveries he faced.

After rolling Bangladesh for 226, Guptill made a flying start in New Zealand's reply as they passed through 10 overs at 59 for one while Bangladesh were 32 for two at the same stage.

Mustafizur Rahman claimed the early wicket of Henry Nicholls for 14, leaving Kane Williamson to partner Guptill in a 143-run stand for the second wicket.

When Guptill went in similar fashion to Nicholls, caught on the boundary by Liton Das off Mustafizur Rahman in the 29th over, New Zealand were 188 for two.

Williamson and Ross Taylor then guided the home side to the finish with Williamson not out 65 and Taylor on 21.

After Williamson won the toss and opted to bowl under cloudy skies, the Bangladesh top order again failed to fire.

They were in trouble at 93 for five after 21 overs before Mohammad Mithun and Sabbir Rahman provided some backbone for the innings, putting on 75 for the sixth wicket.

Mithun again played the anchor role, as he did with his hard-fought 62 in the first match.

In game two, he scored 57 off 69 deliveries before he was bowled by Todd Astle, while Sabbir contributed 43 off 65.

New Zealand assisted the Bangladesh cause with 23 extras and some sloppy fielding while Rahman had fortune on his side when an edge off a Todd Astle delivery nicked the stumps but the bails stayed on.

Colin de Grandhomme had an eventful first over that lasted 11 deliveries, included five wides and also produced the wicket of Soumya Sarkar who was caught by Ross Taylor for 22.

But Taylor dropped two catches in the following overs.

Ferguson finished as the most successful New Zealand bowler with three for 43.

The third and final ODI is in Dunedin next Wednesday, followed by three Test matches.</s>A devastating blaze has killed at least nine people and injured dozens of others in Bangladesh's southeastern city of Chittagong, according to local officials.

The fire broke out early on Sunday morning and raced through a crowded slum in the port city, which lies some 216 kilometres southeast of the capital, Dhaka, fire official Jasim Uddin told the Associated Press news agency.

"While trying to control the fire, we formed a search team and the team found four dead bodies belonging to the same family," Uddin said.

At least 200 homes, mostly made up of bamboo, tin and tarpaulin, were gutted before firefighters brought the blaze under control about five hours after it started.

Uddin told AP that the cause of the fire was not yet known, and that an investigation into the incident had been ordered.

Fires regularly break out in Bangladesh's slums, where millions of people live in squalid living conditions, and accidents in the South Asian nation kill hundreds of people every year.

Rights groups have alleged some former shanty town blazes were deliberate acts of sabotage by developers seeking to free up property to construct multi-storey buildings.

Rights activist Nur Khan Liton told the AFP news agency on Sunday that fires had been used in the past "as a weapon to evict poor slum dwellers and squatters from government or private property".

There was no immediate evidence that Sunday's fire was intentional.</s>Dhaka, Feb 17 (IANS) As many as eight people were killed and many others injured in a fire that engulfed a slum in Bangladesh’s southeastern seaport city Chattogram, some 292 km away from here, on Sunday.

According to officials, some 200 thatched houses were gutted, rendering many poor people homeless, news agency Xinhua reported.

Jashim Uddin, Deputy Director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence in Chattogram, said they had recovered eight bodies from the debris.

Many of the injured with severe burn injuries were taken hospitals.

It took around an hour for the Fire Service and Civil Defence to extinguish the flames, he said. An investigation will be launched to find the cause of the fire.
At least nine people die after a fire sweeps through more than 200 slum dwellings in Chittagong, Bangladesh.