Kalam dies after explosion burns in N’ganj

Kalam (35), one of five victims severely burned in a gas leak explosion in Fatullah, Narayanganj, has died.

He passed away around 11:00 AM on Monday (May 11) while undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka.

Doctors said nearly 95 percent of Kalam’s body was burned, and his respiratory tract was also critically damaged.

The explosion occurred on Sunday morning in a ground-floor apartment of a six-storey building in the Giridhara area of Fatullah.

Meanwhile, another devastating explosion took place on Monday morning in the Lucky Bazar area of Fatullah, leaving four members of the same family seriously injured.

Authorities suspect that accumulated gas from a leaking pipeline or a possible refrigerator compressor explosion may have caused the incident.

The injured are Abdul Kader (50) and his three sons Mehedi (17), Sakib (16), and Rakib (16). They were rescued in critical condition and admitted to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka.

Hospital sources said the other four victims injured in Sunday’s Giridhara explosion are Kalam’s wife Sayma (32), son Munna (7), and daughters Munni (10) and Kotha (7).

Sayma suffered burns over 60 percent of her body, Kotha 52 percent, Munni 35 percent, and Munna 30 percent.

In Monday’s Lucky Bazar explosion, Abdul Kader sustained burns over 57 percent of his body, Mehedi 18 percent, Sakib 17 percent, and Rakib 25 percent. Mehedi and Rakib also suffered severe airway burns.

All four remain in critical condition and are undergoing treatment at the burn institute.

Neighbours said the force of the explosion blew off doors and windows of the house.

One after another, the injured family members came out of the house with severe burns. Locals quickly rescued them and sent them to the hospital.

Abdul Kader is originally from Matlab Upazila in Chandpur district. He had been living in Fatullah with his family for work and drove an auto-rickshaw for a living.

Of his three sons, Mehedi sold halim, Sakib worked at a local factory, and Rakib sold fuchka (street snacks).

At the time of the incident, the father and his three sons were asleep.

Abdul Kader’s wife survived unharmed as she was outside the house fetching water for cooking preparations.