The Health Ministry of Bangladesh confirmed on Friday that at least 46 people have been killed and dozens injured as a result of a fire in a seven-story building in the capital of Dhaka on Thursday night.

Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen said 12 people were under treatment and 10 people remained in critical condition, adding that the government will pay the medical expenses of the injured.

So far, 33 bodies have been handed over to their families according to a Dhaka Additional District Magistrate.

The building is known for hosting food restaurants that people mostly visit in the evening.

It is believed that the fire started at a food shop named "Kachchi Bhai" on the second floor, but as of now, the fire service department has established a five-member investigation body to look further into it.

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The country's President, Mohammed Shahabuddin, and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, expressed condolences over the lives lost.

Explosions and fires due to gas cylinders, faulty air conditioners, and bad electrical wiring are frequent in Bangladeshi buildings and factories.

Back in March last year, at least 17 people were killed and more than 100 were injured after an explosion struck an office building in the Bangladeshi capital's commercial district, which shook the lower floors of a seven-story building in Gulistan, a major hub for wholesale goods in Dhaka.

Several floors of the building and the side walls were destroyed in the explosion, which sent rubble and splinters flying into crowded streets. 

In June the year prior, at least 34 people died after a fire that sparked a huge chemical explosion and was still blazing on Sunday at a shipping container depot in Bangladesh. The explosion was ignited by a fire that ended up injuring over 300 people so far.