Four members of a family were burnt alive in a fire at their thatched house in Adhunagar area under Lohagara upazila of Chittagong district early yesterday.
The deceased were identified as Abdur Rahim, 40, his wife Nasima, 33, their daughters Lucky, 12, and Reshmi, 8.
Mohammad Shahjahan, officer-in-charge (OC) of Lohagara police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that the fire might have broken out from the butt of a burning cigarette around 3:30am.
“Rahim got up to smoke while the other family members were asleep. He mistakenly left the butt of the burning cigarette near the house that led to the fire.”
The house was fully burnt in the fire, he said, adding that on information, they recovered the bodies.
Jasim Uddin, deputy director of Chittagong Fire Service and Civil Defence, said he was not informed of the incident as there is no fire service station in Lohagara upazila.
AKM Imran Bhuiyan, assistant superintendent of police at Satkania circle, said the fire rapidly spread to the whole house as there were a lot of combustible materials.
Police said two other members of the family luckily escaped death as they were out of their residence during the fire incident.
Emran, 14, elder son of Rahim and class seven student at Adhunagar High School, was at his grandparents’ residence while younger son Arman, 10, was at his madrasa during the incident, said local sources.
Emran said he along with others rushed to the spot to save his parents and sisters, but failed.
“I could not save them. Now how I and my brother can live,” he said in a choked-voice.
Sirajul Islam, chairman of Adhunagar union parishad, told the Dhaka Tribune that Rahim converted to Islam from Buddhism at least 20 years ago and started living in the area after he had married Nasima.
