Narayanganj gas fire toll hits 4, claims 3rd victim from the same family

"23-year-old Sohag died around 1:30am. He had burns on 40 percent of his body," said Dr Shawon Bin Rahman

Sohag, who suffered severe burns in a fire sparked by a gas leak in Narayanganj’s Siddhirganj, has succumbed to his injuries.

Previously, Sohag's wife Rupali and 18-month-old daughter Sumaiya had died after suffering burns in the same incident. The death toll from the incident now stands at four, with three victims from the same family.

"Sohag, 23, died around 1:30am. He had burns on 40 percent of his body," said Dr Shawon Bin Rahman, resident surgeon at the emergency department of the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

The fire broke out around 2:30am on Mar 3 in a tin-roofed house owned by Ibrahim Khalil in the Paschim Dhankunda area.

Eight people from two families suffered severe burns in the incident.

The others injured in the fire are rickshaw puller Hannan, 40, his wife and garment worker Nurjahan Akhter Lucky, 30, their daughters Jannat, 3, and Samia, 9, son Sabbir, 16.

The victims were all rushed to the burn institute with serious injuries following the incident.

According to doctors, Hannan had burns on 45 percent of his body, Sabbir on 27 percent, Lucky on 22 percent, Samia on 7 percent, and Jannat on 3 percent.

Abdullah Al Arefin, deputy assistant director of Narayanganj Fire Service and Civil Defence, said that a gas line ran beneath the two-room tin-roofed house. A leakage likely caused gas to accumulate inside and a spark ignited the trapped gas, causing an explosion that triggered the fire.

Everyone was asleep when the fire broke out. They were burnt before they even had a chance to escape, said Anwar, the brother of the victim Lucky.

The first victim to die was Hannan. He died at 1:10am on Saturday with burns on 45 percent of his body. He was undergoing treatment at the high dependency unit.