First fatality reported in Gazipur cylinder explosion

One of the 32 people undergoing treatment at Dhaka's Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery after a gas cylinder explosion in Gazipur's Kaliakair has succumbed to his injuries, reports bdnews24.com. 

The victim, 45-year-old Solaiman Molla, had burns on 95 per cent of his body. He had been receiving treatment at the burn institute’s intensive care unit since Thursday night after his condition deteriorated.

He was declared dead around 10am on Friday, said Mridul Kanti Sarkar, acting residential surgeon at the institute’s emergency department.

“Solaiman had burns on 95 per cent of his body along with respiratory tract burns. He was moved to the ICU last night as his condition worsened."

This is the first death reported among those injured in the gas cylinder explosion in Kaliakair. Doctors said the majority of the victims are in critical condition.

None of those in the ICU is doing well, the institute’s Assistant Professor and ICU Consultant Md Ekramul Haque said on Thursday night.

“All of them are in very bad condition. Their respiratory tracts have been burnt. They suffered burns on 80 per cent, 90 per cent and even 95 per cent of their bodies.”

Another boy, 13-year-old Rabbi, was moved to ICU on Thursday after his condition deteriorated. He suffered burns on 95 per cent of his body along with damage to the respiratory tract.

Meanwhile, 24-year-old Azizul Haque, who was undergoing treatment at the institute, was discharged from the hospital on Thursday. Only three per cent of his body was burnt.

On Wednesday, a fire erupted after a cylinder explosion in the Mouchak Tilerchala neighbourhood of Kaliakair around 5:45pm.

Witnesses and victims recounted that a family left a kitchen cylinder, wrapped in wet cloth, in an alley after gas started leaking from it. The cylinder was emitting gas with a hissing sound, drawing the attention of curious passersby, including women and children.

The street was also crowded at the time as garment factory workers and others were returning home for Iftar just before sunset.

But all hell broke loose when someone lit a stove in a nearby house, sparking a blaze that engulfed dozens.

As many as 32 people injured in the incident were rushed to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Half of them suffered burns on over 50 per cent of their bodies.

Among them, 30-year-old Monsoor has suffered full-body burns, while 10 others have burns on at least 90 per cent of their bodies.