Twelve people, including children, have suffered burns in three separate fire incidents in Gazipur over the past nine days, raising concerns over gas leaks and fire safety in residential areas.
All the injured are receiving treatment at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka, the institute’s resident surgeon Dr Sultan Mahmud Sikder confirmed.
In the first incident, three members of the same family suffered severe burns in a gas leak explosion in the Cherag Ali Market area of Tongi around 6:00am on October 21.
According to hospital sources, 85% to 95% of their bodies were burned. All three remain in critical condition, with two receiving treatment in the emergency department and the third in the High Dependency Unit (HDU).
On October 23, four members of another family suffered burns in a fire at their home in Gazipur.
Preliminary information suggests the fire started on a sofa early that morning before spreading to the wooden ceiling, two motorcycles parked on the balcony and eventually the entire house. The exact cause of the fire remains unknown.
The injured were initially taken to Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital before being transferred to the burn institute for advanced treatment.
Of the four, the mother and elder son have been admitted, while the father and younger son are under observation. The injured include two children aged four and five. One sustained burns to 40% of his body, while the other two family members suffered burns to 2% and 12% of their bodies, respectively.
In the latest incident, five members of the same family were burned in a fire caused by a gas leak in the Sardagong area of Kashimpur, Gazipur, around 8:30am on Thursday. They were brought to the burn institute in Dhaka around 2:00pm.
The family’s head, 40-year-old Riazul Sheikh, suffered burns to around 40% of his body and is in critical condition.
Arifa Begum suffered burns to 5% of her body, while 17-year-old Faria sustained burns to 8%. Eighteen-year-old Rozina and one-year-old Mohammad Rahim each suffered burns to less than 1% of their bodies.
All five are receiving treatment and remain under medical observation.
