Pallabi Water Tank Explosion: Two more succumb to injuries

Two more members of the family who were burnt in a water tank explosion at a building in Dhaka's Pallabi on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha succumbed to their injuries yesterday.

The deceased are Bedena Begum, 50, and Laboni Begum, 18. They were undergoing treatment at the burn and plastic surgery unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Bedena's son and Laboni's husband, Rabbi, is now fighting for his life at DMCH with 38 percent burns.

Laboni died at 8:00pm and Bedena breathed her last at 10:00pm, said Dr Partha Shankar Paul, a resident surgeon of the burn unit.

Earlier Rabbi's father Surat Ali, 62, sister Aleya Begum, 30, and Aleya's daughter Mili Akhtar, 4, died after the incident.

Rabbi's brother Mohammad Shakil, a tenth grader, and sister Chapa Akhter, a fourth grader, had survived the fatal accident as they were outside during the explosion.

The building's landlord, Mosharraf Hossain, 48, his son Jisan, 18, and relatives Awal Hossain Babu, 32, and Alamgir Hossain, 32, were also injured.

There was a problem in the water line and there had been bad odour in the house for the last three months. The tenants had informed the landlord about it.

Last Tuesday, a cleaner opened the tank and fixed the problem. But that very night, the tank exploded immediately after its lid was opened, which triggered a fire.