A sudden blast rocks a Halishahar home at sehri. Residents rush out with flames clinging to their bodies

Nine members of a family are in critical condition after a suspected gas build-up sparked an explosion that tore through their flat

Nine members of a family, including three children, have suffered critical burn injuries after a powerful explosion sparked a fire in a flat in Chattogram’s Halishahar during sehri.

The blast occurred at 4:31am on Monday at a third-floor flat of a six-storey building in Halishahar’s H Block.

Neighbours said the explosion was followed by screams, with victims running out of the flat as flames engulfed them.

The injured have been identified as Ayesha, 4, Anas, 7, Aiman, 10, Shawon, 17, Sakhawat Hossain, 46, Shipon, 32, Suman, 40, Rani, 40, and Pakhi, 35. They were having sehri at the time of the incident.

Sakhawat, who runs a garage in Halishahar, had rented the flat about a year and a half ago. He lived there with his wife, two children and an employee from his garage. His younger brother and family had recently come to stay for medical treatment.

Doctors at Chattogram Medical College Hospital said all nine were in critical condition. They were admitted to the burn unit immediately after the incident and later referred to Dhaka for advanced treatment, according to Ashfakul Atik, the facility's registrar.

Burn unit chief Dr Rafiquddin Ahmed said all the victims had suffered respiratory injuries.

Rani, Pakhi and Sakhawat had their entire bodies burnt. Shipon suffered burns on 80 percent of his body, Suman and Shawon 45 percent each, Aiman and Anas 25 percent, and Ayesha 20 percent.

Alamgir Hossain, deputy assistant director of Chattogram Fire Service (Zone-1), said preliminary findings suggest gas had accumulated in the kitchen.

“It appears that gas had built up in the kitchen. When the stove was lit, it triggered the explosion and fire,” he said.

The blast damaged doors and windows of flats from the second to the fifth floors. The lift door on the third floor was blown open, while those on the second and fourth floors were bent.

Jasim Uddin, who lives opposite the affected flat, said he had woken for sehri when the explosion occurred.

“There was a loud bang around 4:30am. Our main door and window glass shattered. Even the ceiling fan bent and the fridge fell over,” he said.

Another resident, Shamima Akter Toma, who runs a beauty parlour in an adjacent flat, said she was asleep when the explosion jolted her awake.

“I heard screams and saw them running out while the flat was on fire. Flames were visible on their bodies,” she said, adding that plates of rice were still on the dining table, indicating the explosion occurred during the meal.

CCTV footage from the parlour shows the explosion at 4:31am, followed by residents rushing out. One woman can be seen running downstairs while on fire.

The building, constructed about 16 years ago, has 22 units and is owned by a Bangladeshi expatriate living in the United States. The owner said there had been no faults in the gas line and that it was regularly maintained.

Building caretaker Mohammad Samrat described the explosion as “terrifying”.

“It felt like the whole building would collapse,” he said. “After the blast, I saw the residents from that flat coming downstairs. All of them were burnt.”