Eleven killed in Bangladesh office building blast

Eleven people were killed and dozens more injured in Bangladesh's capital after an explosion inside an office building in a bustling commercial district, police said.

The cause of the blast was not immediately known but fatal building fires and explosions are common in Bangladesh, where safety enforcement is often lax.

The blast shook the fourth and fifth floors of a seven-storey building in Gulistan, a major hub for wholesale goods in the capital Dhaka, shortly before 5 pm local time (1100 GMT).

Police inspector Bacchu Mia told AFP that at least 45 people were taken to hospital for treatment, of whom 11 had died.

"Two of the dead are women," he said. "The rest are injured and being treated."

No fire broke out in the building but more than 150 firefighters were at the site to assist in rescue efforts, a fire services spokesperson said.

The cause of the blast was still being investigated, he said.

A middle-aged man in a blood-soaked shirt told reporters he had been injured in the blast, which shattered windows and damaged a wall of the building.

"There were people lying on the floor. I escaped by climbing out from the window," he said.

An explosion at an oxygen plant near the southern port city of Chittagong on Saturday killed three people.