The corridors of the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka were filled with cries and groans on Saturday.
Nearly half the number of the faithful who sustained injuries in the air conditioner blast at a Narayanganj mosque on Friday succumbed to their injuries on Saturda.
As many as 40 people suffered burn injuries on Friday night after several air conditioners at a mosque in Narayanganj’s Fatullah exploded. 37 of the injured were taken to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka; 20 of them have died so far.
Owner of a small business, M Ibrahim, 50, went to the mosque to offer his prayers. His son Faysal was also there.
After the prayers, Faysal went out of the mosque and was some 100 yards away from it when he suddenly heard the explosion. He ran back to the mosque to check on his father.
He found his father in a terrible state — Ibrahim’s hair beard, and clothing had been burnt. Ibrahim was taken to Victoria Hospital in Narayanganj at first and then to Dhaka.
Relatives of victims mourn at a hospital, after a gas pipeline blast at a mosque in Narayanganj, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, September 5, 2020 | Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune
Mostofa Kamal, 34, is another ill-fated victim of the explosion. Recently married, Kamal used to tutor the young to earn a living.
Hearing the news of his demise, his father Abdul Karim Miazi hurried to the hospital from Chandpur on Friday night.
“I received the news of my son’s death. I’ve asked them [hospital] to show me the body but they are yet to show it to me,” Miazi said.
Seven-year-old Jubayer asked his mother not to turn off the television before going to the mosque as he promised her that he would return as soon as the prayers ended and resume watching his favourite programs.
Only a few minutes later, Jubayer’s mother Rahima Khatun learnt about the explosion at the mosque.
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She rushed to the spot and was informed that her son and husband had been taken to Victoria Hospital. She was unable to find them there as they were referred to Dhaka for treatment.
Rahima found both of them at the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in the capital.
Unfortunately, Jubayer could not keep the promise he had made to his mother.
He drank some water which his mother gave him but died a few hours later that night.
Jubayer’s father Julhash, a garment factory worker, is currently fighting for his life at the hospital.
Marzina Begum was not ready to receive the body of her 15-year-old son Moinuddin. The body was in such a burned and deformed state that initially Marzina and the victim’s sister Beauty refused to accept that the body could be Moinuddin’s.
“Where are you, my son?” Marzina kept crying as she frantically moved from one place to another, showing people a photo of her son, as if expecting to receive some good news.
Only hours after the explosion, Moinuddin phoned his sister Beauty to say that he had been admitted to a hospital as he had burn injuries and his whole body was covered in bandages. Beauty last spoke to her brother at 1am on Saturday.
Photo shows the aftermath of an air conditioner explosion at the mosque in Narayanganj’s Sadar upazila on September 4, 2020 | Dhaka Tribune
“How could he die so soon? We just talked last night,” Beauty said, unwilling to accept the fact that her brother was dead.
Outpouring of grief at victims’ homes
Mourning by the relatives of the injured and the deceased has cast a grim shadow over the entire Talla area. So many families have been affected that there is no one left to console them.
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Most of the people injured and killed in the blast were bread earners for their families, reports Bangla Tribune. Moreover, most were garment workers and earned minimal wages. Families are at sea after losing their sole earning members. Many of the families of the injured who have been admitted to the burn unit cannot afford to pay for their treatment.
Swapan Miah, a resident of the area, lives only 500 yards away from the mosque where the explosion happened. He works at a local decorator shop and earns very little.
Swapan’s son Sifat sat for the SSC exam this year and passed with flying colours.
On top of his job at the decorator’s shop, Swapan got a job at a garment factory to ensure that his son could go to college.
But his dreams were shattered as Sifat’s whole body was burnt in the explosion. His financial state is so dire that he cannot even manage the money to go to Dhaka to see his son, who is currently undergoing treatment there.
Brothers-in-law Imam Hossain and Amzad Hossain are on the verge of death. They work at two separate garment factories and both reside at their father-in-law’s house.
Their father-in-law Mujibur Rahman is worried as the two earners were burnt and undergoing treatment.
“I don’t have the ability to bear the medical expenses of my two sons-in-law, nor do I have the money to take care of their families.
“I work as a decorator’s worker at a community centre. There has been no work for the last four months due to the coronavirus pandemic. The family is barely managing to scrape by and this accident has only added to our troubles,” Mujibur said.
Mujibur urged the government to provide for the families of the victims, including bearing the medical expenses of the victims.
