5 of a family burnt in Mirpur

Staff Reporter :

Seven people, including five members of a family, sustained severe burn injuries in a fire caused by an apparent gas leak at a house in Mirpur-11, Dhaka, early Sunday morning.

The incident occurred when the family’s living room was filled with leaked gas, which ignited when Abdul Khalil, a 40-year-old painter, lit a match to light a mosquito coil around 3 am.

The injured include Abdul Khalil, his wife Ruma Akter, their three sons Abdullah (13), Mohammad (10), and Ismail (4), as well as their tenants Sapna (25) and her husband Shahjahan (35), both garment workers.

The victims, with varying degrees of burns, were rushed to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery for treatment.

According to Shawon Bin Rahman, the resident medical officer at the institute, six of the victims are in critical condition. Abdul Khalil suffered the most severe burns, with 95% of his body affected.

Ruma Akter sustained 20% burns, Abdullah and Mohammad suffered 38% and 35% burns respectively, while Ismail had 20% burns. Sapna and Shahjahan had burns covering 14% and 6% of their bodies, respectively.

Khalil’s brother-in-law, Abdul Halim, confirmed that the room was filled with gas when the fire broke out.

He explained that Khalil had lit the match to light a mosquito coil, unaware of the accumulated gas in the room, which resulted in the devastating fire.

Milon, Khalil’s elder brother, speculated that the gas leak likely originated from the house’s gas supply line, which caused the gas to accumulate in the room and led to the explosion when Khalil lit the match.

The fire has left the victims in critical condition, and authorities are investigating the cause of the gas leak.