14 killed over 100 injured in blast in Dhaka's crowded Gulistan area

Police said the powerful blast occurred at a seven-storey building in Bangladesh's capital at around 4:50 pm (local time), as per reports.

Eleven fire services units were pressed into action and so far, 14 bodies have been recovered, police told reporters.

The building located in the busy Siddique Bazaar was a commercial building housing several offices and stores.

India Today reported that the blast took place in a store selling sanitation materials on the ground floor of the building.

The reason for the blast couldn’t be immediately ascertained but local suspected chemicals illegally stored inside the building might be the cause.

Eyewitnesses said at least 20-25 people, seriously injured and bleeding, lying in the road in front of a damaged building.

People were running around in panic and crying for help, they said, the reports added.

The window panes of the building were shattered and the shards of glass scattered on the street.

The Rapid Action Battalion's bomb disposal unit was rushed to the spot to inspect the buildings.

All the injured were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where they are receiving treatment at the hospital's emergency unit.