Six people were killed and at least 20 others injured after LPG cylinders exploded in a covered van at an industrial premises in Ashulia on Sunday evening, with the force of the blast hurling a cylinder some 200 yards away and killing a woman inside a roadside shop.
The explosions triggered a fire that engulfed five to six vehicles at the premises in Jamgora around 6:45pm, while flying debris struck people outside the factory area.
Five of the victims were found dead inside the covered van after firefighters brought the blaze under control, Ashulia police said late Sunday.
Their identities could not immediately be confirmed.
The sixth victim was identified as 55-year-old Zainab, wife of Mohammad Ali of Gazipur’s Kashimpur.
Zainab had come to visit her daughter Sanjida Akter, who works at a tailor shop about 200 yards from the explosion site.
She was standing inside the shop when a cylinder blasted through its tin roof and struck her in the head, killing her on the spot.
The incident occurred at an industrial premises in Jamgora associated with Pretty Group, according to officials at the scene.
Somen Barua, warehouse inspector at DEPZ Fire Service, said the fire broke out while cylinders brought for use at the factory were being unloaded from a covered van.
Witnesses reported hearing a massive explosion followed by several more blasts as flames spread to vehicles parked nearby. The force also shattered factory windows.
Four firefighting units, two each from Jirabo and DEPZ fire stations, responded to the incident. They reached the scene around 7:10pm and brought the fire under control at about 8pm.
Hafizur Rahman, deputy assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defence’s Dhaka Zone-4, confirmed that LPG cylinders were inside the covered van but said the exact cause of the fire would be determined after an investigation.
Ashulia Women and Children Hospital Manager Harun-or-Rashid said 26 injured people had been brought to the hospital. Most appeared to be vegetable vendors and pedestrians from around the factory, he said.
Two people with severe burns were referred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for advanced treatment.
Factory officials said workers had already left the premises and no employees were trapped when the fire broke out.
Earlier in the evening, authorities had reported only injuries as intense flames prevented rescuers from fully entering the site.
The death toll rose after the fire was brought under control and police recovered five bodies from the covered van around 11:15pm.
Police and fire officials said further investigation would determine how the fire and initial explosion began.
