11 of a family burnt in gas cylinder explosion at Ashulia
The gas cylinder in the kitchen exploded when the family members were making rice cakes (pitha)
At least 11 members of a family, including four children, suffered different levels of burns in a fire that started after a gas cylinder exploded inside a flat in Dhaka's Ashulia area on Friday night.
According to the victims and locals, the incident happened at a residential building owned by Amzad Bepari in the Gomail area of Ashulia at about 9:30pm.
Locals rescued the injured and immediately took them to Ashulia Women and Children's Hospital. After receiving first aid there, they were all shifted to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
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The victims were Surjo Banu, 55, Zahura Begum, 70, Md Monir Hossain, 43, Sohel Rana, 38, Sumon Mia, 30, Shiuli Akhtar, 25, Sharmin, 25, Samin Mahmud, 15, Mahadi, 7, Swaed, 4, and Suraha, 3.
Talking to reporters, Sohel said his brother Sumon lived in the rented flat on the first floor with his wife and children. Friday evening, he went to Sumon's home with his family and other relatives on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat.
He said the gas cylinder in the kitchen exploded when the family members were making rice cakes (pitha). The entire flat was engulfed in flames very quickly, leaving the 11 people inside the home with various degrees of burns.
Mesbah, customer care officer at the Ashulia Women and Children's Hospital, said that 11 burn patients, including women and children, had arrived at their hospital at about 10:30pm on Friday. They were sent to DMCH after they were given primary treatment.
