A fire that broke out following explosion of a gas cylinder in the capital’s Kamrangirchar yesterday killed a mother while her daughter and grandson sustained serious burn injuries and are now fighting for life.
The deceased was Aklima Begum, wife of Abdul Zabbar, and she hailed from Baligaon of Munshiganj. The accident happened at her house at Noakhalibari in Mojibarghat of Kamrangirchar.
“The 50-year-old died while undergoing treatment at the Burn and Plastic Surgery unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) around 6pm,” Dr Mohammad Adnan of the unit told the Dhaka Tribune.
Aklima was an aged woman and sustained 65% burn injuries which also affected her lungs, Adnan said.
“Aklima’s 28-year-old daughter Joly Akhter and two-year-old grandson Alif are in critical condition and both, with 85% and 90% burn injuries respectively, are undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit,” he added.
Joly’s husband Ramjan Ali said the gas cylinder might have exploded because of a leak in the gas pipe connecting the cylinder and the burner around 11:30am.
A mechanic by profession, Ramjan said he was away from home at the time of the accident.
“We began using the gas cylinder due to disruption in Titas gas supply. I, however, never thought it would result in such a fatality,” said a tearful Ramjan.
Sheikh Mohosin Alam, officer-in-charge of Kamrangirchar police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that they were informed following the incident and the locals doused the flame.
