Five madrasa students were injured after an apparent electrical short circuit triggered an explosion followed by a fire at a madrasa in the capital's Demra area on Monday afternoon.
The incident occurred around 3pm on the sixth floor of an eight-storey building at Darunnajat Siddiqia Kamil Madrasa (DAKHSISI) in East Boxnagar. The explosion damaged part of the wall before a fire broke out.
The injured were identified as Redowan, Modabbir, Safi, Md Uzaifa and Roman, aged between 12 and 15. They were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) for treatment.
Inspector Md Faruk, in-charge of the DMCH police outpost, said all five students were treated at the hospital's emergency department, with Redowan in critical condition.
Quoting eyewitnesses, he said the explosion appeared to have originated from an electrical board on the sixth floor following a short circuit.
Md Akash, a student of the madrasa, said several Class 6 students were asleep in the room when the explosion occurred.
"The explosion caused part of the wall to collapse and sparked a fire. The students sleeping inside were injured, while the others managed to evacuate safely," he said.
He added that the injured students were rushed to DMCH immediately after the incident.