Two people were killed after a fire broke out at Al Baraka Tower in the Katabon area of Dhaka’s Elephant Road early today.

The deceased were identified as Abdus Salam, 20, of Bogura’s Kahaloo upazila and Jony, 24, of Kishoreganj Sadar upazila, said Mohammad Ayub, officer-in-charge of New Market Police Station.

The fire started at around 1:00am on the 12th floor of the 14-storey building and quickly spread to the 11th and 13th floors, trapping several residents, the OC said.

Six units of the Fire Service and Civil Defence brought the blaze under control after about two hours.

Firefighters rescued two people from inside the building in critical condition and rushed them to hospital, where doctors declared both dead. Their bodies have been kept at the morgue for post-mortem examinations, the OC added.

According to police, the floor where the fire originated housed lawyers' chambers. The two victims, who were inside the building, had appealed for rescue over mobile phones before contact with them was lost.

Salam worked as a clerk to Abdullah Al Noman, a prosecutor at the International Crimes Tribunal. He was pronounced dead after being taken to the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Jony was declared dead after being taken to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.