US fire kills 3 Bangladeshis

Three Bangladeshis were killed and four injured in a fire in the basement of a house in Queens in New York City early Saturday.
Two of them were identified as Abdul Kuddus and Sd Jahan. Kuddus from Titas in Comilla went to the USA winning a diversity visa lottery one and a half years ago. The names of the other killed and those injured could not be known immediately.
According to The New York Times, two of the men died at the scene, and the third, who was in cardiac arrest when rescue workers arrived, died at Elmhurst Hospital Centre.
Three critically injured men were taken to the burn unit of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell hospital in Manhattan. A woman was treated at the scene.
Quoting a witness, News World from New York reported that Subir Barua, owner of the house, woke up hearing a huge blast around 2:30am and rushed to the basement. He found four Bangladeshis lying on the floor. Subir tried to rescue them but himself got burn injuries.
On information, fire officials rushed to the spot and admitted the victims to hospital. Officials suspected blast of the electric heater was the source of the fire. The incident was under investigation.
Noyan Barua, a friend of Subir, told The New York Times that two of the dead men lived in the house and the third one was visiting.
Neighbours and relatives of the owners said the house operated as a cultural centre--and possibly a boarding house--for members of Bangladesh's Buddhist community.
A visitor at the hospital, Shaikat Barua, 26, said Subir, who is in his 50s, was in a critical condition with severe burns.
The second floor of the building was illegally divided into two units, and the basement was split into four bedrooms, officials said. On Saturday, the city's Department of Buildings issued violations for work performed without a permit, illegal occupancy and lack of a second exit.
Firefighters were delayed from reaching the victims by an obstructed basement door, and they had to cut through bars on the basement windows, a fire official said.
According to city property records, the two-storey wood-frame house, at 42-40 65th Street in Woodside, has been owned by Subir and Marina Barua since 1996.