DHAKA, March 6 (Xinhua) -- At least 21 people were killed in a fire early Tuesday morning in Bangladesh's port city Chittagong, 264 km southeast of capital Dhaka.

    According to Fire Brigade, the fire broke out in a godown nearby at about 1:50 a.m. local time (19:50 GMT) on Tuesday and soon engulfed the adjacent slums, known as colonies, having 35 small tin-roof houses. The killed include 10 children, 8 women and 3 men.

    The victims, mostly women and children, couldn't come out as the shanties they were sleeping in soon turned infernos and the single exit from three blocks of the slums was also narrow.

    "They woke up to the roars of fire and frantically tried to come out, but failed, except a few, as the passage was also on fire," said a spot account of the tragic scene.

    Local news agency UNB quoted the deputy director of the Fire Brigade as saying that the blaze might have originated from mosquito coil at the godown and later spread to nearby colonies.

    On information, nine vans of six fire-fighting units in the port city rushed in and doused the flames in an over four-hour-long frantic fight.

    "The firefighters pulled out 21 charred bodies from the ashes in a bizarre scene, as many in the throngs of onlookers screamed," the firsthand report said, adding that they also rescued eight injured people who narrowly escaped the devastating fire.

    The slums were illegally built on the occupied lands and fenced with walls having a lone narrow exit, UNB said.

    "As the slums were situated about 300-350 yards inside the main road, and its entrance is very narrow and congested, the fire-brigade vehicles could not get in the spot in time," said the FireBrigade deputy director.

    The firefighters had to put out the blaze in an alternative way, he added.