5 of a family burnt in Aftabnagar fire caused by 'gas leak'

Five members of a family, including three children, suffered burns in a fire reportedly caused by a leak in a gas pipeline at a house in the capital's Aftabnagar area yesterday.

The injured are Tofazzal Hossain, 32, his wife Mansura Akhter, 24, and their three daughters — Tanisha, 11, Mithila, 7, and Tanzila, 4.

They were admitted to the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, said Dr Shaon Bin Rahman, residential surgeon at the emergency department of the hospital.

The doctor said that Tofazzal suffered 80 percent burns, Mansura 67 percent, Tanisha 30 percent, Mithila 60 percent, and Tanzila 66 percent.

All of them are in critical condition, Dr Shaon added.

Mosharaf Hossain, a neighbour, said the family of five had rented a flat on the ground floor of the building in the South Anandnagar area of Aftabnagar. The fire broke out around 11:30pm.

He said the blaze may have been caused by accumulated gas coming into contact with a spark, triggering an explosion. Flames quickly spread through the flat, and neighbours rescued the victims and took them to the burn institute.

Locals managed to douse the flames shortly after the incident, the neighbour said.