Five of family burnt in Dhaka septic tank explosion

Five members of a family were burnt as a septic tank exploded inside their Dakshin Khan house in Dhaka early yesterday.

The roof and walls of the one-storey building were partially damaged due to the blast, said landlord Md Monsur, who was not present during the incident.

With 70 percent burns Rumana Akhter, 30, is being treated at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, DMCH sources said.

Other injured are her daughter Monika Akhter, 8, brother Imran Hossain, 27, and his wife Jannat, 20, and their daughter Tasfia, 2.

With 20 percent burns, second-grader Monika is in a critical condition, while the rest, who sustained 5 to 10 percent burns, were released from DMCH, the sources added.

The explosion might have occurred when toxic gas leaked out from the tank somehow mixed with a fire, said Hedayet Hossain, sub-inspector of Dakshin Khan Police Station.

The fire might have originated from an electric short circuit, he said.