10 injured in water tank explosion

Ten people including six of a family were injured in an underground indoor water tank explosion, believed to be caused by a gas leak, in a building in Pallabi area in the capital on Tuesday night.

The injured were admitted to the burn and plastic surgery unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). Among the six members of the family, five are in critical condition, according to doctors.

Palash Chandra Madak, an inspector of Fire Service and Civil Defense, said they suspect gas from a leaked pipe beneath the tank caused the explosion at the six-storey building in block-E of Mirpur 12.

Mohammad Shakil, son of one of the victims, brought them to the hospital around 11:30pm on Tuesday. He said he was outside during the explosion. Quoting the injured, Shakil said the explosion happened immediately after opening the cover of the tank, which was inside one of their rooms.

“There was a problem in the water line. Besides, we had been smelling gas in the house for last three months, which we informed the landlord,” he said. “On Tuesday, a cleaner opened the tank and fixed the water problem. But on that night, it exploded with a loud bang and triggered a fire,” Shakil said.

He added that the gas stove in the adjacent kitchen was burning at that time which flared up the fire.

The landlord and his family members were also injured when they came down to see the matter.

On information, two units of fire service rushed to the spot around 10:25pm and doused the fire.

The victims are Surat Ali, 62; his wife Bedana Begum, 50; son Rabbi, 20; daughter-in-law Laboni, 18; daughter Aleya Begum, 30; and granddaughter Mili Akhter, 4; as well their landlord Mosharrof Hossain, 48; his son Jisan, 18; and their relatives Awal Hossain Babu, 32; and Alamgir Hossain, 32.

Of them, Laboni was admitted at the intensive care unit (ICU) with 88 percent burn injuries. Mili has 85 percent burns and was admitted at high dependency unit (HDU). Of others, Surat with 72 percent, Aleya with 58 percent and Rabbi with 38 percent burns were being admitted in different wards with critical condition, Partha Shankar Paul, a resident surgeon at the burn unit, told The Daily Star yesterday.

Emranul Islam, officer-in-charge (operations) of Pallabi Police Station, said no case has been filed in connection with the incident, since no one has filed a complaint with police.