Old Dhaka fire: Severely burnt youth among 9 admitted to DMCH burn unit

The corridors of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital were filled with the cries of people who lost relatives in a deadly fire at Old Dhaka.

More than 50 people have been killed in the fire that spread from a four-storey building in a narrow alley of Chawkbazar on Wednesday night. At least 40 were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital with injuries.      

Of them, eight people were being treated at the post-operative unit, a nurse in the hospital’s burn unit told bdnews24.com on Thursday.

A 22-year-old man named Shohag, who suffered 60 percent burn wounds, is admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.

His father Abu Taher, a 65-year-old day labourer, was seen crying outside, while his wife Bedana Begum stayed with her son.  

Shohag’s condition is highly critical because of the extensive burns throughout his body, said burn unit doctor Hossain Imam.

“My son used to work at a perfume store in Chawkbazar. He was brought to the hospital soon after the fire started,” his mother told bdnews24.com.

Mohammad Anwar Hossain’s entire body was wrapped in bandage at the post-operative unit located at the second storey of the hospital.

He is a rickshaw puller, said his daughter Bithi. The family lives in Kamrangirchar.

“He himself called us at night and told us that his entire body was burnt. Then we heard a stranger’s voice in the background which said ‘come to Dhaka medical’.”