Woman with burn injuries dies at RMCH

A woman who sustained burn injuries after her clothes caught on fire while she was warming herself by fire, died at Rangpur Medical College Hospital (RMCH) on Saturday.  

The deceased is Rozina Begum (31) of Rangpur’s Mithapukur upazila.

Rozina’s family members said she was warming herself sitting beside a fire on December 21 as the temperature started falling. At one point, her clothes caught on fire, leaving her with burn injuries.

Family members doused the fire and rushed her to Mithapukur Upazila Health Complex.

Later, she was referred to Rangpur Medical College Hospital (RMCH) the same day. She died there on Saturday noon, said Dr MA Hamid, assistant professor of RMCH’s burn and plastic surgery unit, adding that she had suffered 55 percent burn injuries.

So far, during this winter, four people have died at the hospital with burn injuries resulting from similar accidents. In 2017, 17 people died after these accidents in different districts of Rangpur division.

According to RMCH sources, the 14-bed burn unit is crammed with patients. Currently, 50 patients with burn injuries are receiving treatment at the unit.

With the fall of mercury in the region, residents of rural areas warm themselves by making bonfires, using throwaway paper, plastic and crop residue. These accidents usually occur as their clothes catch on fire.

At present, the temperature in the region is hovering between 4.5-10 degree Celsius.