An elderly man died and at least 17 others, including women and children, were injured after a fire broke out at a shop on Nazimuddin Road in Old Dhaka early Monday.

The victim was identified as Amin Uddin, 65, according to police.

The fire started around 4:10 am on the ground floor of a five-storey building. Upon receiving the information, seven firefighting units rushed to the scene and managed to extinguish the fire after about an hour of effort, said Md Shahjahan, duty officer of the Fire Service and Civil Defence Control room.

Eighteen people were rescued from the building. Twelve of them received first aid at the scene, while six were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

Md Farouk, in-charge of the DMCH police outpost, confirmed that one of the injured succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment at the hospital.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.

Atiqur Rahman, owner of the furniture store "Real Wood", stated that three people — two managers and one staff member — were asleep inside the shop when the fire broke out. Amin Uddin, the elderly manager, fell severely ill due to smoke inhalation and later died. Another employee was slightly injured by the smoke and is currently being treated at a hospital.

Atiqur added that Amin Uddin was originally from Sharsha upazila in Jashore and had been living at the furniture store. He had served as the shop`s manager for about three years.