Two more Uttarkhan fire victims die

Two more victims of the house fire in Dhaka's Uttarkhan succumbed to their injuries yesterday, raising the death toll to five.

Rickshaw-puller Dablu Mondal, 33, died at the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) at 7:00am, and his cousin Purnima, 35, died there later, said Sub-inspector Bachchu Mia, in-charge of the hospital's police outpost.

They were among eight people burnt after their three-bedroom flat in Beparipara area caught fire on Saturday. They all were related to each other and originally from Pabna.

Purnima's mother Sufia Begum, 60, a house help, died a day after the fire. Purnima's son Sagor, a seventh grader, is battling for his life at the hospital. He is under treatment at the ICU with 65 percent burns.

Anjuara Begum, 30, wife of rickshaw-puller Dablu, has suffered six percent burns and their six-year-old son Abdulla Sourav 12 percent. Their conditions are critical because their respiratory systems were affected, and they are having problems breathing, the hospital's resident physician Partha Sankar Paul told The Daily Star.

On the day of the fire, Azizul Haque, 27, a worker at a poultry feed factory and younger brother of Anjuara, and his wife Muslima Aktar, 20, died at DMCH.

Fire officials suspect that the blast and the fire occurred due to a gas leak in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Lalon Khan Limon, a cousin of Anjuara, said the treatment is expensive in the burn unit, and it is difficult for the families to afford the cost. Now the relatives are giving support, but it will not be possible for them to continue the treatment this way, he added.