The government yesterday set August 25 as the deadline for relocation of all chemical warehouses and factories from Old Dhaka.

Amidst a hail of flaming cans and other flammable objects, courageous locals emerged as first responders to Wednesday's devastating fire which engulfed the four-storey Haji Wahed Mansion in Chawkbazar's Churihatta.

Witnesses and officials have been giving confusing accounts of what happened during Polash Ahmed's alleged attempt to hijack a Biman aircraft.

Polash Ahmed, who attempted to hijack a Biman flight to Dubai on Sunday, boarded the plane at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport without raising any flags at the security checkpoints.

Actress Samsun Nahar Shimla said she would fully assist the investigation into Sunday's attempted plane hijack in which her ex-husband Polash Ahmed is a suspect.

The battle for life of 45-year-old Chawkbazar fire victim Anwar Hossain ended last night at the intensive care unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital's burn unit.

A man who allegedly tried to storm the cockpit of a Biman flight was killed in a commando operation at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram yesterday evening after all passengers were evacuated safely.

The nation is holding a one-day national mourning for the victims of Chawkbazar fire that claimed 67 lives on Wednesday and Thursday.

After an inferno had claimed 124 lives in Old Dhaka's Nimtoli in 2010, the government took up four projects to relocate four types of industries -- chemical, plastic, printing and light electronics -- from this part of the capital.

Fire tragedies are frequent in Bangladesh and often cause high casualties, but no one has ever been punished for their role in any fire incidents.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday regretted that chemical warehouses could not be relocated from Old Dhaka due to owners' reluctance.

A footage obtained by The Daily Star shows the exact moment when the fire broke out at Chawkbazar in Old Dhaka. As the clock strikes 10:32pm, the fire rips through the premises completely destroying the front portion of the hotel. Bricks and bottles fall inside, and a portion of the wall caves in as mayhem ensues.

Their family was a happy one -- mother and father with their two healthy children. On Wednesday night, the brutal fire that blazed through Chawkbazar reduced their perfect family of four to just one, while the rest looked on from behind a photo frame that managed to survive the hellish flames.

As the call for relocating the warehouses of chemicals and inflammable goods from Old Dhaka gets louder, an industries ministry probe committee claimed that there was no chemical factory or warehouse at the scene of Wednesday's devastating fire in Chawkbazar.

The grief for the loss of at least 67 lives in the chemical-fuelled Chawkbazar blaze is giving way to the fury against chemical factories and warehouses in Old Dhaka with the demand for their removal from the area getting louder.

After an inferno claimed 124 lives in Old Dhaka's Nimtoli in 2010, a monument was built at that place. The structure, named “Nimtoli Tragedy”, bears many inscriptions. One of them says it was built to raise awareness on fire and the dangers of storing chemicals in residential buildings.

The Awami League used party men, police and administration officials to influence the 11th parliamentary polls, BNP-led Jatiya Oikyafront leaders said yesterday at a “mass hearing”.

But one thing is sure, chemicals and flammable objects had fed the flames that almost gutted Haji Wahed Mansion and partly damaged three other adjoining buildings on Wednesday night, causing the fire to last longer, said exerts and members of a probe committee.

With dazed eyes on a blank face, five-year-old Sanin lay nestled in the arms of her father Suman, who was standing just yards off the Dhaka Medical College morgue yesterday.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said the government cannot avoid its responsibility for the Chawkbazar tragedy.