Death toll in gas explosion in Chittagong rises to 5

Two more people who were burnt in a horrific gas explosion in a residential building in Halishahar, Chittagong city, have died while undergoing treatment. As a result, the death toll in this tragic incident has risen to 5. On Tuesday night (February 24), 46-year-old Md. Sakhawat Hossain and 35-year-old Ashura Akhter Pakhir died while undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute in Dhaka.
Hospital doctors said that the two deceased had almost 100 percent burns on their bodies. The condition of the remaining 4 people currently undergoing treatment is also very critical and they are being kept under close observation. The procession of deaths has been going on in the Halishahar incident for the past two days. Earlier, a 40-year-old man named Samir Ahmed Sumon lost his life yesterday afternoon. And last Monday, Nurjahan Akhter Rani and her 16-year-old son Shaon died while undergoing treatment.
All the deceased and injured are members of the same family. Doctors at the Burn Institute said that saving the lives of the four survivors has become a big challenge as a large part of their bodies has also been burnt.
Incidentally, this horrific accident took place on Monday morning in a flat on the third floor of the six-storey building ‘Halima Manzil’ adjacent to the AC Mosque in H Block of Halishahar. Initial investigation revealed that gas had been accumulating in the kitchen of the house for a long time and when it came into contact with fire in the morning, it turned into a very powerful explosion. The intensity of the explosion was so high that within a moment, 9 members of the same family inside the flat were burnt. The injured were rescued and first sent to a local hospital and later to Dhaka for better treatment.
The family members affected in the accident are the deceased Md. Sakhawat Hossain and his wife Nurjahan Akhter Rani, their two children Shaon and 10-year-old Umme Ayman Snigdha. In addition, Sakhawat’s younger brother, the late Samir Ahmed Sumon, his wife, the late Ashura Akhter Pakhi, and their two children, 4-year-old Ayesha and 6-year-old Farhan Ahmed Anas, were burned. Another member of the family, Sakhawat’s younger brother Shipon Hossain, is also currently undergoing treatment with serious injuries. This heartbreaking incident in Chittagong has cast a shadow of grief over the entire area.