Gas fire kills woman, child in Mugda

A woman and her five-year-old son died after a fire, believed to have originated from a gas leak, broke out at a house in Dhaka. Two others were also seriously burnt in the incident.

Priyanka Baroi, 30, succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment at the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in the early hours of Tuesday.

Her son, Arup Buddha, died at the hospital at 11:00pm on Monday.

An explosion rocked the house and sparked the fire in the Dakshin Mugda area earlier in the day.

Priyanka suffered burns on 72 per cent of her body, while Arup faced burns on 67 per cent of his body, said Dr SM Ayub Hossain, the resident doctor at the burn institute, reports bdnews24.com.

The conditions of Priyanka's mother, who suffered burns on 35 per cent of her body, and her husband, who suffered burns on 25 per cent of his body, are also critical, according to Dr Ayub.

“The family kept the doors and windows closed because it was winter. We believe that gas accumulated in the home due to a leak in the kitchen line,” said Mugda Police Station Inspector Ashis Kumar Deb.

"Most of the furniture has been damaged in the explosion and the fire; the windows were also shattered," the inspector said.