Three burnt in gas blast at Dhaka’s Shyampur

Three people have been admitted to the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute with severe injuries after gas accumulating in a room sparked an explosion in Dhaka’s Shyampur.

The victims are in critical condition, according to Dr Md Tariqul Islam, resident doctor of the institute’s emergency department.

Three victims identified as Jamal, Tushar and Md Jamil were brought in early on Tuesday morning, he said. Jamal suffered burns on 50 per cent of his body, Tushar on 75 per cent and Jamil on 55 per cent.

“Their condition is very bad. All of them suffered severe burns.”

Dipu, the brother of Tushar, said a fire sparked from gas accumulating in Tushar’s room on the seventh floor of a seven-storey building in Shyampur around 2:45am.

“Jamal lived on the sixth floor of the building, while Jamil lived in Baganbari. The two of them had gone to Tushar’s room and were chatting. All three were burnt when the fire started.”

Jamil’s father Iqbal Hossain said he did not know whether there was an explosion.

“I went to the house when I heard news of the incident around 2:45am. When I arrived, I saw many people had gathered there. We quickly rushed them to the hospital. I cannot say how the fire started.”

Mominul Haque, a firefighter at the Fire Service and Civil Defence Call Centre, said: “We have not had a report regarding a fire or an explosion in Shyampur.”