Dozens of people were trapped in the buildings, unable to escape onto narrow streets clogged with traffic, as the highly-combustible stores of chemicals, body sprays and plastic granules erupted in flames. About 50 people were injured, some critically burned.

The fire ignited around 10.40pm on Wednesday night and burned until after sunrise, with heavy smoke still visible over the site early on Thursday.

Bodybags carrying charred human remains were taken to nearby hospitals and Bangladesh’s fire service chief Ali Ahmed said the death toll was likely to rise. “The number of bodies may increase,” he said. “The search is still going on.”

“There was a traffic jam when the fire broke out. It spread so quickly that people could not escape,” he told Agence France-Presse, describing a part of town where the streets are very narrow and the residential buildings stand inches apart.