Fire Service and Civil Defense headquarters has formed a 5-member committee to investigate the deaths of five patients at the isolation unit of United Hospital on Wednesday night following a fire incident.
Lt Col Zillur Rahman, director (operations and maintenance) of Fire Service will lead the committee, said Deputy director (Dhaka) Debasis Bardhan to Dhaka Tribune.
He added that the committee was initially formed with four members, but another member was added later on Thursday.
“We have already started the investigation,” said Debasis.
The five patients who were killed in the fire incident are Riazul Alam, 45, Khodeza Begum, 70, Bherun Anthony Paul, 74, Md Monir Hossain, 75, and Md Mahabub, 50, according to a statement issued by United Hospital.
The patients, with Covid-19 like symptoms, were undergoing treatment at the isolation ward outside the main hospital building, said the statement.
The fire originated from an electric short circuit at 9:30am, which spread quickly due to gusty wind, said the statement.
The fire service was informed immediately. They brought the blaze under control within 15 to 20 minutes with the hospital's own fire extinguishers, added the statement.
“We’ve recovered five bodies,” Kamrul Islam, duty officer of fire service control room, said on Wednesday night.
The fire broke out at the corona ward around 9:55pm and was extinguished around 10:25pm.
Kamrul said that initially it was suspected that an air conditioner explosion might have caused the fire.