Protesters have set fire to the headquarters of the state broadcaster in Bangladesh as violent clashes between students and police continue, the authorities say.

A post on BTV’s official Facebook page warned “many” were trapped inside the building in Dhaka, as it appealed for help from the fire service to put the blaze out.

Bangladesh’s information minister told the BBC broadcasts had been stopped and most employees had left the building in the capital.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had appeared on the network the night before, appealing for calm after days of violent protests which have left at least 10 people dead and hundreds more injured.

Students have been holding rallies demanding change to a system which reserves a third of public sector jobs for the relatives of war heroes, who fought for the country’s independence from Pakistan in 1971.

The students are arguing that the system is discriminatory, asking for recruitment based on merit.

The government has been trying to quell the protests, on Thursday switching off the country’s mobile internet in an attempt to slow the students.

Instead, it became the deadliest day so far, according to news agency AFP.