6 burned in explosion at shared gas meter room of 2 N’ganj factories

At least six people were burned in a fire following an explosion at a shared gas meter room of two garment factories in the BSCIC industrial area of Narayanganj's Fatullah this morning.

They are now undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka.

The incident occurred around 8:30am, said Abdul Halim, senior station officer of the BSCIC Fire Service and Civil Defence Station.

He said the explosion took place in the joint gas meter room located between MS Dyeing, Printing and Finishing Limited and Fair Apparels Limited.

Among the injured, five are from the maintenance department of MS Dyeing, while the other is a construction worker employed for Fair Apparels, he added.

The injured are Md Al-Amin, 30, Md Azizullah, 32, Md Selim, 35, Md Jalal Molla, 40, Md Nazmul Huda, 35, and Noor Mohammad, 35.

Nazmul suffered burns on 28 percent of his body, Jalal 14 percent, Aziz nine percent, Selim 10 percent, Al-Amin 17 percent, and Noor Mohammad two percent, said Dr Shawon Bin Rahman, resident surgeon of the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

Nazmul and Al-Amin were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), he added.

Fire service officer Halim said the explosion occurred before 9:00am, but they were informed around 11:00am. A fire service team later visited the spot and carried out a preliminary investigation.

"The gas meter rooms of the two factories are adjacent to each other. A hand grinding machine was used in the morning to cut iron rods on the roof for expansion of the room. We suspect that gas accumulated inside the room, and sparks from the grinding machine triggered the explosion," Halim said.

Hasanur Rahman, store in-charge of Fair Apparels, said for the past three days, a contractor firm appointed by Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company had been working on the gas lines.

Nasir Uddin, deputy general manager (maintenance) of MS Dyeing, said, "Fair Apparels had planned to expand their portion of the meter room. They were doing gas line and roof work when the explosion occurred."

Nasir, however, claimed that the injured are labourers hired by the contractor, not their factory workers.

Anwar Hossain, officer-in-charge of Fatullah Model Police Station, said, "A police team has been sent to the site. Legal steps will be taken after investigation."