Two men in critical condition after blast in Dhaka’s Hazaribagh

An explosion on a courier delivery van burned Alim, 40, and Deepak, 25, and killed Ilias, 20

Two men are fighting for their lives after an explosion on a covered van operated by a courier delivery service in Dhaka’s Hazaribagh, police say.

The victims – Alim, 40, and Deepak, 25 – are receiving treatment at the Sheikh Hasina Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute. Both of them have burns on about 50 percent of their bodies, said Inspector Bachchu Miah of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s police outpost.

A 20-year-old worker named Ilias died around midnight on Sunday when the blast rocked the covered van in Hazaribagh’s Boibazar area.

The two surviving victims also worked for the Metro Express courier service, according to Mokhtaruzzaman, chief of Hazaribagh Police Station.

“They were unloading chemical products and our initial belief is that the explosion occurred due to mishandling of the containers,” he said.

No case had been filed over the incident as of Monday morning, the OC said.

“The matter is still under preliminary investigation. We are trying to ascertain how the accident occurred, whether the goods were legal, and whether they had permission to transport such flammable materials.”

Two fire service units from the Jaribag Fire Station put out the flames after the explosion. They are investigating how the fire started, according to Ershad Hossain, duty officer at the Fire Service Control Room.

Metro Express Assistant General Manager Pijush Kanti Nag told bdnews24.com that eight-gallon canisters had been booked from the Gulshan branch for transport to Chattogram and were being unloaded at a warehouse in Hazaribagh when the blast occurred.

“The customer who made the booking did not specify that the material was flammable. We are investigating the matter internally.”

The company is investigating the customer who sent the canisters and the name under which they were being transported, he said.

“We are assisting the police on this matter.”