Father of infant dies, taking Gazipur gas fire toll to 13

The father of an infant and another young man are the latest victims to die, as 16 others continue their fight for survival

The death toll in a fire fuelled by gas from a faulty cylinder on a street in Gazipur’s Kaliakair has increased to 13, with two more victims succumbing to their burn injuries.

The latest victims to die at the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka on Tuesday evening are Yasin Arafat, 21, and Moshiur Ali, 22.

Yasin was the helper of a driver at bus service operator Takwa Paribahan while Moshiur was a readymade garment factory worker.

Yasin, a native of Kushtia’s Khoksa, suffered burns on more than 62 percent of his body surface while Moshiur had 60 percent of his body surface burnt, said Hossain Imam, an associate professor at the national burn institute.

Resident physician Tariqul Islam said Yasin’s airway was burnt in the incident. He was undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit.   

His mother Ayesha Khatun said Yasin’s wife Rumi Khatun started the struggle to save her husband with their 24-day-old son Hossain in her arms. Now the family stare at a bleak future.   

As many as 16 others injured in the incident were still fighting for their lives at the institute. None of them are out of danger, doctors said.

All the victims of the incident are from low-income families as curious people, including women and children from the poor Mouchak Telirchala neighbourhood crowded around the cylinder emitting gas just before Iftar on Mar 13.

A man left the kitchen gas cylinder on the street after failing to stop the gas from coming out. 

The fire engulfed them all when someone lit a stove in a nearby house.