6 members of a family burnt in gas cylinder explosion in Mirpur

Six people, including a woman and a child, were burnt in a gas cylinder explosion at Bhasantek at Mirpur in the capital. The incident took place in the early hours of Friday (April 12) at a house at 13 Culvert Road in Bhasantek.

The injured are Mehrunnesa (65), Surja Banu (30), Liza (18), Lamia (7), Sujan (9) and Md Liton (52). They all belong to the same family.

Rifat Hossain, the caretaker of the house, said, “A furniture trader named Liton Mia lives on the ground floor of the house with his family. When a mosquito coil was lit around 4:00am, the gas accumulated in the house from the leakage of the gas cylinder exploded, burning six members of that family. Later, we brought them to the Sheikh Hasina Burn Institute in a burnt condition around 5:00am.”

He said the gas cylinder was outside the house, but the stove was connected to the house through a pipe. As there is leakage in the connection of that stove, gas accumulates in the house. The mosquito coil catches fire as soon as it is lit.

Dr Tariqul Islam, resident doctor at Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute. Said, “Six people were brought to the emergency department of the burn unit from Bhasantek in Mirpur early this morning. Among them Mehrunnessa’s 47 percent, Surja Banu’s 82 percent, Lamia’s 55 percent, Md Liton 67 percent, Liza 30 percent, and Sujan suffered 43 percent burns. They are currently under observation in the emergency department.”

He also said that the condition of all of them is critical due to the extent of burns.