From correspondents in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 03:01 PM IST

A fire broke out Monday at a commercial building here, trapping hundreds of people inside and forcing two private television channels to abruptly suspend their transmission.

The fire started at about 10.35 a.m. (0435 GMT) at the 11-storey NTV building in the city's Karwan Bazar area due to an electric short circuit. Private television channels NTV and RTV, the offices of which are in the building, were forced to stop transmission.

Troops were called in to help fire fighters rescue people standing on the rooftop of the building that also houses a Bengali daily, several banks and business offices. Three helicopters were also pressed into operation to evacuate the people.

Preliminary reports said around 20 injured people had been rescued so far.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)