Six people died after jumping from the 22-floor building while another victim suffered fatal burns, officials said.

Emergency services said at least 65 people were being treated in hospitals.

People were seen screaming for help as hundreds of panicked onlookers crowded the streets of the upmarket Banani commercial district.

Some workers slid down a television cable on the side of the building. Others grabbed ropes lowered by emergency service helicopters which pulled them out of the blaze.

The inferno erupted barely a month after at least 70 people were killed in Dhaka apartment buildings where illegally stored chemicals exploded.

The latest disaster brought new scenes of horror amid fears that the toll would rise. More than 100 ambulances were parked in streets around the building.

Firefighters on long ladders smashed windows to create escape routes. More than one hour after the blaze erupted people could still be seen on the 13th and 14th floors desperately waving for help amid clouds of black smoke.

Army helicopters dangled ropes that victims grabbed so they could be lifted to safety, with crowds below cheering and applauding every time someone was rescued.

Three hospitals reported that six men and women had died or arrived with fatal injuries after jumping from the office block. They included a Sri Lankan man whose body was taken to the army's Kurmitola Hospital.

Dilkhosh Ahmed at the Banani Clinic said one of the victims had attempted to use the television cable to climb down, but slipped and fell around the eighth floor.

A seventh death from burns was recorded at the Dhaka Medical College hospital.

Helicopters were deployed to drop water on the blaze as scores of firefighters backed by navy and air force specialists struggled to bring it under control.

AFP/ eNCA