3 killed in water tank blast in city
Three people were killed and seven others injured in a water tank explosion in the capital's Pallabi.
Six of the victims were members of the same family, of whom three died during the accident.
Meanwhile, the remaining three are now fighting for their lives at the burn and plastic surgery unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
Surat Ali, 62, with 72 percent burns, died around 7:00am, his daughter Aleya Begum, 30, with 58 percent burns, died around 6:00pm yesterday, while Aleya's daughter Mili Akhtar, 4, died around 6:00pm on Saturday with 85 percent burns, said Dr Partha Shankar Paul, a resident surgeon of the burn unit.
The other members of their family were in critical condition.
Surat's daughter-in-law Laboni, 18, was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with 88 percent burn injuries; Surat's elder son Rabbi, 20, with 38 percent burns, and Surat's wife Bedana Begum, 50, with 17 percent burns, were both admitted to different wards in critical condition, the doctor said yesterday.
Fire service officials suspected that gas from a leaked pipe beneath the tank caused the explosion in the six-storey building in block-E of Mirpur 12.
The building's landlord, Mosharraf Hossain, 48, his son Jisan, 18, and relatives Awal Hossain Babu, 32 and Alamgir Hossain, 32, were also injured.
Aleya's husband Anwar Hossain said Surat had two sons and four daughters. Three of his daughters were married off. Of them, two have been living at their in-laws' houses.
Surat's younger son Mohammad Shakil, a tenth grader, and daughter Chapa Akhter, a fourth grader, had survived the fatal accident as they were outside the house during the explosion, Anwar said, adding that he was at his native village in Panchagarh on the night of the incident.
Talking to The Daily Star on Friday, Shakil said he was now worried about the family's future, having already lost three members.
“My father was jobless for the last one year and the others were supporting the family. But all of them are now fighting for their lives,” he said, holding back tears.
He added that they had been living at the two-bedroom house for the past one year and a water tank was inside one of their rooms.
There was a problem in the water line and there had been a bad odour in the house for the last three months, which they had informed the landlord about, Shakil said.
On Tuesday, a cleaner opened the tank and fixed the problem. But that very night, the tank exploded with a loud bang immediately after its lid was opened, which triggered a fire.
Shakil added that the gas stove in the adjacent kitchen was burning at that time which increased the flame. Two units of fire service rushed to the spot at around 10:25pm and doused the flames.
Police said no case has been filed in connection with the incident, since no one has filed a complaint.
Incidents of gas explosion have been frequent in the country, resulting in the death of many people.
On March 27, five people, including four of a family, were injured after a water reservoir exploded at a building in the same area. Three of them died later.
Just two days before that, four students of Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, who were doing their internships in Mymensingh, succumbed to injuries they received when a newly connected gas line exploded in a six-storey building in the district's Bhaluka upazila.
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