BNP Secretary General and LGRD Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and Water Resources Minister Hafiz Uddin Ahmed had to wait out the frenzy in the press club auditorium following a seminar they had participated in as the chief and the special guest respectively. International Farakka Committee organised the event styled 'Flood and Storm Surges: A Comprehensive Disaster Management Plan for Bangladesh'.

Hearing the news of the bomb- and gun-attacks on the opposition leader and her colleagues, the ministers hurried to the press club president's office and tried to get more details.

They were in panic as the situation outside changed for the worse and waited for around an hour after the seminar before venturing out of the club.

When asked the LGRD minister declined to make any comment on the incident and quickly left the club as his security staff gave the green signal. Police escorted the ministers to their residences.

Hundreds of people including government officials and employees were also detained in the Secretariat and nearby shops and buildings by the violence.

After things had cooled down a bit, they came out of confinement and had to walk several kilometres to find a bus or other mode of transport to reach their destinations.