Badda gas fire kills mother and daughter hours apart

Out of five members of a family who suffered burn injuries in a gas fire in Dhaka’s Badda, another person has died, taking the death toll in the incident to two.

The fire, which broke out Saturday night, had left five members of the family severely burnt.

Of them, 35-year-old Mansura Begum succumbed to her injuries at the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka at 10:30pm on Sunday.

Earlier that afternoon, her 4-year-old daughter Tanzila, identified by a single name, had died from burn injuries.

Dr Shawon Bin Rahman, resident surgeon at the institute’s emergency department, said: “Mansura had burns on 67 percent of her body and was admitted in the HDU (High Dependency Unit).”

Mansura’s husband Tofazzal Hossain, 45, and their two other daughters identified with single names, Tanisha, 11, and Mithila, 7, remain in critical condition and are still undergoing treatment at the institute.

All five family members were admitted there with serious burn injuries on Saturday night.

Dr Shawon had earlier reported that Tofazzal suffered burns on 80 percent of his body, Mansura 68 percent, Tanisha 30 percent, Mithila 60 percent and Tanzila 66 percent.

Their burn injuries are extensive. Their condition is not good -- it is critical,” he added.

Four of the victims were put in the HDU while one under the ICU.

A relative of the family, who came to the burn institute, said: “They lived in a rented flat on the ground floor of a house in Aftabnagar. A few days ago, gas lines were damaged during road work nearby, and gas had been leaking from there since.

“It’s likely that the leaked gas accumulated inside the house. Late at night, someone may have lit a cigarette or otherwise ignited a flame, triggering an explosion. A wall of the house collapsed during the blast.”