Going beyond the call of duty
"In the meantime, the fire service arrived and started dousing the blaze. Moments later, another blast occurred and sub-inspector Kamrul Hasan, constable Sohag and I were within its 100-yard radius. We felt a heat wave in our bodies and then I couldn't see anything… I couldn't open my eyes."
Imrul Kaisar, a constable of Industrial Police at Kumira, was the first to inform firefighters of the BM Depot explosion on Saturday night. Imrul is currently fighting for his life at the Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit of Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH).
Imrul, along with his two colleagues rushed to BM Container Depot minutes after receiving information that the depot had caught fire. He immediately called the fire service.
But his work did not stop at that. He and his colleagues got busy on the frontline, trying to disperse outsiders from the depot who were live-streaming on Facebook and taking pictures.
"In the meantime, the fire service arrived and started dousing the blaze. Moments later, another blast occurred and sub-inspector Kamrul Hasan, constable Sohag and I were within its 100-yard radius. We felt a heat wave in our bodies and then I couldn't see anything… I couldn't open my eyes," said Imrul, while describing the horrors that unfolded that night.
Dr Sadia Akter, assistant registrar of Burn and Plastic Surgery unit at CMCH, said Imrul's corneas have been badly affected. He also sustained burns on both legs.
Md Raihan, Imrul's elder brother, rushed to CMCH from their village at Narsingdi after hearing about the incident. He was attending his brother in the hospital.
"My brother went there on call of duty but now his life is under threat," Raihan told The Daily Star.
"Imrul is a brave heart. He could've remained aloof from the spot but his sense of duty did not let him," he added.
Raihan said an eye specialist from Dhaka visited CMCH yesterday morning and advised them to take him to Dhaka for better treatment.
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