At least 87 people were killed and over 100 injured in a devastating fire accident which took place Thursday night in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka.

Nayeem Md. Shahidullah, Fire Service and Civil Defense of Bangladesh, told Xinhua on Friday morning that at least 87 people were killed in the fire, including those who died after being sent to different hospitals.

The fire is said to break out in a chemical factory in the old Dhaka city at about 9:20 p.m. Thursday local time. The fire soon spread to at least five houses in the congested residential area, trapping hundreds of residents in the densely populated area.

The fire was started by an explosion in an electrical transformer and then spread to residential and commercial buildings, witnesses said.

The firefighters rushed to the spot soon and managed to bring the fire under control after it raged for more than three hours.

Shahidullah said rescue operation is still on and they are hopeful to call off the operation within half an hour.

This was the second deadly disaster to strike the capital in 72 hours after a five-story building collapsed on Tuesday night, killing 25 people.