Staff Reporter:
At least 12 people were reportedly injured this afternoon (Tuesday) after a fire broke out from a speaker wire and spread to balloons during an event marking ‘July Uprising Day’ on Manik Mia Avenue in the capital.
As the fire erupted, the event host urged the crowd via microphone to remain calm and move away from the speaker box.
“The speaker wire has caught fire — organisers, please attend to it,” the announcer repeatedly stated as panic spread through the crowd.
To commemorate the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s attempted escape on this day last year, organisers released symbolic “helicopter balloons” into the sky. They said the balloons were launched as a reminder of the moment she (Hasina) allegedly tried to flee the country.
The balloons were released precisely at 2:25pm, soaring into the sky from the hands of hundreds of attendees.
