2 suffer burn injuries in Narayanganj gas explosion

Two people suffered burn injuries in a gas explosion in a multi-storey building in Narayanganj city last night.

The two victims are building security guards Ujjal and Manik.

After being taken with 50 percent burns to Narayanganj General Hospital, they were referred to Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka as their physical condition deteriorated, said Abdullah Al Arefin, deputy assistant director of Narayanganj Fire Service and Civil Defence.

The incident took place at a kitchen on the eighth floor of the building named GM Garden on President Road in Narayanganj around 11:30pm, our Narayanganj correspondent reports quoting the fire service official.

The victims were injured in an accumulated gas explosion, said Arefin, adding that "the explosion was caused by a cigarette".

Dhiman Saha Jewel, a resident of the building, told our correspondent that there is a kitchen and a room on the eighth floor for social programmes of building residents. 

A mechanic was repairing the gas line of the kitchen last night.

At one stage, he went out of the kitchen without completing the repair work but gas accumulated inside the kitchen as its door and window were closed, he said.

The explosion went off when Manik and Ujjal entered the kitchen with a burning cigarette, said Dhiman.