Ashulia inferno toll rises to 8
The Ashulia explosion and fire claimed another life late on Sunday, taking the death toll to eight, while three others remained hospitalised with injuries and several victims were yet to be identified, highlighting the heavy human cost of the inferno.
The latest victim, Nazrul Islam, 30, a roadside seller of raw materials, died while undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) at around 10:30pm.
He had suffered critical injuries in the blast and was initially taken to a local women and children’s hospital before being transferred to DMCH.
Md Habibur Rahman, inspector-in-charge of the DMCH police camp, confirmed his death.
Nazrul’s son Samiul Islam said their family home was in Abudanga village of Daulatpur upazila in Manikganj, although they currently live in Shimultala in Ashulia. His father sold onions, garlic and other raw materials on the road in front of the Preeti Group factory.
After hearing about the accident, Samiul rushed to the local hospital and found his father there. Nazrul was later shifted to DMCH for advanced treatment, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The blast occurred at around 6:45pm on Sunday at the yard of Preeti Composite Textile Limited, a concern of Preeti Group, in Jamgora area of Ashulia, Savar.
Three other injured people – raw-materials sellers Sujon Mia, 25, and his father Mokhles Mia, 45, and covered-van driver Nur Islam, 30 – are receiving treatment at DMCH.
Mokhles Mia said he and his son sold raw materials on the road outside the factory. They heard a powerful explosion from inside the factory in the evening.
“Pieces of iron, bricks and glass flew out from the blast,” he said, adding that fragments struck Sujon on the head and injured him, while Mokhles suffered an injury to his hand. Local residents later rescued them and took them to hospital.
Nur Islam, the driver of the gas-carrying vehicle, suffered burns to various parts of his body and is in critical condition in the DMCH burn unit.
His nephew, Md Masud, said Nur’s family home was in Bagerhat and that he lived in Bhola.
Md Habibur Rahman, in-charge of the DMCH police camp, said four people from the Ashulia incident had been brought to the hospital. Nazrul died, while two of the remaining three were being treated in the casualty department and one in the burn unit.
Earlier, Hafizur Rahman, deputy assistant director of Fire Service Dhaka Zone-4, said the explosion occurred while gas cylinders were being unloaded from a covered van.
Six people died at the scene, he said.
After firefighters brought the blaze under control at around 10:30pm, they searched the charred vehicles. Five badly burned bodies were recovered from inside a covered van.
The bodies were so severely burned that their faces and other physical features could not be recognised, making identification difficult.
Relatives have claimed to have identified two of the deceased as Salma Akter and Bulbul. Authorities are working to verify their identities.
Police, the Fire Service and other relevant agencies are investigating the incident to determine what caused the explosion and to establish the identities of all the victims.
The incident has left families grieving and several others facing uncertainty as authorities continue efforts to identify the dead and determine how the deadly blast occurred.
