Separate incidents of fire have claimed the lives of two children in Gazipur and Brahmanbaria, while three workers of a steel mill sustained serious burn injuries in the capital’s Shyampur yesterday.
Six-year-old Mehedi Hasan of Gazipur died in his sleep when his family’s house was burned down in Kaliakoir upazila on Friday night.
Sub-Inspector Syed Azharul Islam, in-charge of Mouchak police outpost, said Mehdi’s mother Moyna Begum and his grandmother were working the night-shift at a garment factory when the fire took place at their house in Kaderia Colony of Kathaliachala area.
When going to work, Moyna had locked the doors leaving a sleeping Mehedi inside, the SI said.
There had been a load shedding in the area since the evening, the police official said, adding that: “Electricity was reconnected around 10:15pm and a wire of a nearby room of another house caught fire because of an electrical short circuit. The blazes spread within moments.”
Locals found Mehedi’s body inside the room when the flames were doused after an hour’s effort, reports our correspondent. Kaliakoir Fire Service and Civil Defense station officer Apurba said locals doused the flames before fire fighters could reach the spot.
Meanwhile, at Titaspara area of Brahmanbaria town, a three-year-old boy died yesterday when a fire gutted his family’s house.
The deceased was identified as Yamin, son of Kamal Mia of Titaspara.
The victim’s father told the Dhaka Tribune that their tin-shed house caught fire from an electrical short circuit. Yamin was asleep during the incident. Sensing the smoke, locals rescued him but he died allegedly from suffocation and electric shock.
Tapos Chandra Ghosh, assistant police superintendent of Brahmanbaria Model police station, said the police have visited the spot to find out more details, reports our correspondent.
In the capital, three workers of a steel mill sustained severe burn injuries when melted iron fell on them at Shyampur yesterday.
Three workers – Sanjay, 25, Mohammad Ripon Ahmed, 25, Md Belal, 41, sustained burn injuries of 90%, 75% and 60% respectively in the incident, confirmed Partha Shankar Paul, resident surgeon of the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Harun-ur-Rashid, senior supervisor of the Kadamtoli Steel Mills, where the incident took place, said the injured were working at the production unit where scrap metals were being melted in a machine.
“Because of a technical fault, suddenly the melted iron blasted in the machine and poured on the workers,” he said.
Polash, a coworker of the victims, said: “In that section [of the mill], we always stay vigilant so that no intact tin or iron-made bottle or box goes inside the machine with other scraps, as they blast in high temperature during melting. Unfortunately that kind of bottle went into the machine with other scraps to be melted.”
In total, seven workers sustained injuries in the incident, but four of them had suffered minor injuries, he said.
Kadamtoli police station OC Mazharul Islam said they have visited the spot and the owner of the mill would be interrogated to find out if there was any negligence in providing workers’ safety.
