28 burnt in city bus arson
In one of the worst arson attacks on public transport, at least 28 people suffered burns as two petrol bombs thrown by suspected blockaders exploded inside a bus at the capital's Jatrabari last night.
Most of the passengers got their faces and necks burnt and suffered inhalation injuries.
Nine victims -- one with 48 percent and others with more than 15 percent burns -- were in critical condition while the rest suffered 3-15pc burns, burn treatment expert Dr Samanta Lal Sen said.
“Nobody appears out of danger,” he told reporters at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
An estimated 36 to 42 people were on the bus, owned by Glory Express Private Ltd. Before this arson, two other vehicles -- a bus and human hauler -- came under petrol bomb attack, leaving one injured.
The only woman victim was Syed Fatema, 24, a pharmacist travelling with her husband. Her chest, back and neck were burnt.
As victims were brought to the hospital, it turned out to be the worst attack in terms of the number of people injured in a single incident since the countrywide blockade began on January 6.
The hospital struggled to cope with the situation as the victims came in phases. Starting from 9:45pm, the number of patients rose steadily, from 6 to 11 to 17 to 21 to 24 to 28 until 11:45pm.
Several hundred people, including the victims' relatives, thronged the hospital after the news spread. Along the corridor on the ground floor some were wailing while some wept silently.
“We hate our two leaders,” shouted out a Dhaka College student, whose brother and sister-in-law were among the victims. “They [the leaders] will never understand our sufferings because their family members don't need to travel on buses like we do.”
At the DMCH emergency, victims were seen groaning in pain as they waited in queue for their turn to be treated. Doctors primarily used anti-burn cream before bandaging the affected parts of the body.
Relatives were also seen moving two to three victims on a single stretcher. Some, finding no stretcher, carried victims by themselves and ran for the hospital's emergency.
The DMCH called in 15 doctors and eight nurses in addition to those on duty to tackle with the emergency situation.
Two passengers saved themselves from being burned by jumping off the running bus, suffering minor injuries.
One of them was Al Amin, 27, who was travelling with his father, two uncles and a friend. They boarded the Rupganj-bound bus from Gulistan.
He saw two boys aged around 12 to 14 were standing by the street holding two lit Kupis (lantern) when the bus slowed down a bit drop a passenger in Konapara Kather Pool area around 9:30pm.
“The first bomb landed on the seat just behind me, breaking through the closed glass window, as soon as the bus drove past the boys,” he said.
Al Amin jumped out through the window, suffering minor injuries. His friend Rafiq, 27, father Mannan Sarder, 60, and uncles Muzaffar Molla, 60, and Shahjahan, 60, suffered burns.
The only woman victim, Syeda, claimed the second bomb descended just near her seat and exploded.
Locals rushed to the scene seeing the flames and police and ambulances too arrived.
Around 2:00am today, Jatrabari police said they were yet to arrest anyone in this connection.
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