A journalist from The Daily Star and over two dozen colleagues spent nearly four terrifying hours on the terrace of the office in Dhaka as a mob smashed and torched parts of the building on Thursday night.

A journalist was killed in Khulna as fresh turmoil descended on Bangladesh, and newspaper offices were attacked also in Sylhet, Khulna and Kushtia.

A first-person account, given by the Daily Star journalist to The Telegraph:

We took refuge on the terrace of the nine-storey building during the mob rampage. The attackers managed to come up till the fourth floor and set fire to parts of the building.

Despite being an open area, the entire terrace was engulfed in smoke. We, the 28 of us, could barely see anything or breathe. There was no water to sprinkle in our eyes. It was around midnight when the attack began.

After some time, the fire services set up a crane close to the gate of our building. The army was downstairs and the firefighters thought it would be safe to start the rescue.

Our canteen manager was the first to be taken down with the crane. The moment he landed below, the mob pounced on him and beat him. They tried to drag him away but the security personnel fought hard and rescued him.

The rescue operation was immediately abandoned. There were still 27 of us on the terrace.

We told the army and firefighters, some of whom had come up to the terrace, that if they felt we were safe on the terrace, we would remain there. They kept looking for ways to get us out.

By then the fire was threatening to catch up with us.

People stand next to burnt newspapers in front of the Daily Star building following the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, in Dhaka

The vandalism and arson had begun first at the office of Prothom Alo, about 1km from our office, around 11pm on Thursday. Our own people had information that the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star might be targeted.

When Prothom Alo came under attack, some of our reporters were at the site to cover the incident.

A segment of the crowd there started moving towards our building. Our reporters confirmed this (they had taken their identity cards off, fearing assault), as did journalists from Prothom Alo. The good thing was that the Prothom Alo journalists had been safely evacuated.

At our office, there were a few reporters along with many desk people, graphic artists, cleaners, security guards and canteen staff doing the night shift.

We informed the police, army and Border Guard Bangladesh. Several security personnel, including some from the Tejgaon division of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, reached our gate in a very short time.

Sometime later, the mob arrived. They started throwing stones and broke through the main gate.

Around 3.30am, the security personnel resumed the rescue operation. All of us went down to the first floor, using the fire exit. This is the floor where the Bengal Arts Precinct is located. It’s here that we had organised an exhibition on the July Uprising with photos and news reports.

Once we were there, the mob, still waiting outside, could again see us. We crouched on the floor, which was strewn with glass shards from the shattered windows.

We were escorted to the staircase that leads to the back of the building. The security personnel had cut open large holes into the barbed wire above the boundary walls. We had to jump through the gaps. There were no protesters at the back of the building.

An alley runs at the back of the building. All of us were taken to the mouth of the alley, where army vehicles were waiting for us. We managed to get out at 4.15am.

We were taken to the army camp near the National Parliament. They made us wait for some time. Those of us who live in neighbourhoods like Dhanmandi andUttara were asked to stay at the camp. In the morning, the army said it was safe for us to return home.

Prothom Alo and The Daily Star have always stood for independent and objective journalism, which is why we are under attack. We were never a favourite with the Awami League or the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or anyone else in power.

The press where both Prothom Alo and The Daily Star are printed (not located in the buildings the mob targeted) was shut down fearing an attack. We could not publish our print editions on Friday morning, though we worked on the online editions.