Fire Service officials have detected a gas leak on the ground floor of the building, Rakhi Neer, that partially collapsed following a massive explosion that claimed 11 lives so far in Dhaka’s Moghbazar area.
However, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd have refuted the claim and alleges that the gas was leaking from a nearby line on the street.
A team of firefighters reached the spot around 9am on Sunday. "We are working to find the exact source of the leak," Dinomoni Sharma, deputy director (Dhaka division) of Fire Service and Civil Defence, told Dhaka Tribune.
"Gas is emitting from the surface of the damaged building’s ground floor. However, the leak is not that dangerous," the fire official added.
The authorities, following preliminary investigation, blamed “leaked gas” for the June 27 explosion that killed 11 people and injured scores.
The Fire Service, immediately after the explosion, formed a five-member probe committee which was supposed to submit their findings in seven days.
Also Read- Moghbazar explosion: Death toll climbs to 11
When asked about the probe status, Dinomoni Sharma said they were still investigating the incident.
Meanwhile, Ali Iqbal Md Nurullah, managing director of Titas Gas, dismissed the reports of a gas leak inside the building.
“I think the gas is emitting from the streets. Out officials are working on it,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
Nurullah said: “The gas pipe may have been leaked due to improper use of the excavator. There was no gas inside the line. It was not that dangerous to cause any blast. Methane [main component of natural gas which consists over 90%] does not explode in open air."
The Titas Gas MD, after visiting the site on June 28, told reporters on spot that they had no gas connection to Shawarma House, the explosion site, and the buildings on the either side of it.
Nurullah had said: “The gas line of the building was very small, only 3-4 inches in diameter, with pressure of only 2 psi. It was not supposed to have too much gas.”
On that same day, after visiting the explosion site, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed initially suspected that the blast might have been caused by a gas leakage as he had smelled methane gas at the site.
At least six probe bodies were formed by different government agencies centring the Moghbazar explosion.
