Child Rafia dies in Jatrabari gas explosion, following parents’ deaths

A three-year-old girl named Rafia has died from severe burns sustained in a gas explosion in capital's Jatrabari. Earlier, her father, Md. Ripon Mia (40), and mother, Iti Begum (30), also died while undergoing treatment for burns from the same incident. With Rafia’s death, three members of the family have now lost their lives.

Rafia passed away around 3:30am on Saturday. She had been admitted to the ICU at the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute in the capital in critical condition.

Dr Shawon Bin Rahman, a resident surgeon at the National Burn Institute, said, "Approximately 90 percent of Rafia’s body was burned."

The incident occurred on the night of Wednesday (July 10) when a gas leak triggered a large explosion and fire at a house on Shahid Faruk Road in Jatrabari. The husband, wife, and their child all suffered burns and were admitted to the National Burn Institute that same night. The family’s ancestral home is located in Barguna Sadar Upazila.