A huge fire has gutted several hundred shops at a market in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka.

There were no casualties as the blaze swept through the area in the early hours of Thursday before stores opened.

It took six hours for military forces and firefighters to contain the blaze, which spread quickly in the Mohammadpur market due to the large amount of flammable items such as cooking oil and plastics, officials said.

Fire service official Shahjahan Sikder said the fire was likely caused by an electric short circuit.

“My family was dependent on this shop. What do I do now? Everything burned to ashes,” a shop owner told local media.

Fires are common in densely populated Dhaka, which has seen a building boom in recent years, often without proper safety measures. Fires and explosions often occur due to faulty gas cylinders, air conditioners and bad electrical wiring.

In April, a fire in a shopping complex in Dhaka injured several firefighters and burned down some 5,000 stores.