Gas Cylinder Fire: Four of a family suffer burns at Dhamrai flat

Four members of a family suffered burn injuries in a fire that occurred presumably due to gas accumulation inside a flat in Dhaka's Dhamrai upazila early yesterday.

The fire instantly engulfed the flat after the family lit the gas stove to cook their sehri meal around 3:00am, said Humayun Kabir, a sub-inspector (SI) of Dhamrai Police Station, quoting locals.

He added that almost everything inside the flat including the furniture was damaged in the fire.

The victims were identified as Nurul Islam, 55, his wife Sufia Begum, 50, their daughter Nishrat Jahan Sathi, 21, an MBBS student, and their son Al Hadi Sohag, 18, a college student.

All the injured were admitted to Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, said the hospital's Resident Medical Officer Md Tariqul Islam.

Of the four injured, three are in critical condition, the physician added.

Nurul Islam was hospitalised with 48 percent burns while Sufia Begum had 80 percent burns, the SI said, quoting hospital sources.

Sohag suffered 38 percent burns and Sathi sustained 16 percent burns, the SI added.

Locals doused the fire before firefighters reached the spot and they also rescued the injured and took them to a hospital.

Sohail Rana, in-charge of Dhamrai Fire Service Station, said, "We have visited the spot. Primarily, it is suspected that the accident happened from gas accumulation due to a leak the cooking gas cylinder. The however cylinder did not explode."