Death toll rises to 20 in Gulistan blast

Another victim of the Gulistan blast died last night at the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, raising the death count to 20.

"Hafez Musa Haider had 98 percent burns. He died around 11:00pm," said Resident Surgeon SM Aiyub Hossain.

Musa, 46, who was from Baluakandi village of Munshiganj's Gazaria, went to Siddikbazar to buy bathroom fittings, along with his cousin Abu Jafar Siddique.

Jafar died on the blast spot, said Musa's father-in-law Bashed Ali.

More than 100 people were also injured in the explosion at a building in Dhaka's Siddikbazar. Fire officials said the explosion took place around 4:45pm.

The cause behind the huge blast is still not known, but officials suspect that accumulated gas might be a likely cause.