Dhaka Bureau: 11 people lost their lives, one by one, in the gas fire that came out of the cylinder hole in Gazipur’s Kaliakore. They died while undergoing treatment at the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Five people, including a child named Tauhid (7), died yesterday. Two of the 11 dead are children. The remaining nine are the only working people in the family. Some worked as scrappers, some were garment workers, and some were innocent and helpless people. Doctors said that the condition of 17 more people who were burned while watching the fire is critical.
A total of 32 people were admitted to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burns and Plastic Surgery after the gas cylinder exploded in the Mouchak Telirchala area of Kaliakair Upazila before Iftar in the evening of March 13. The family members and relatives of these 32 people sit in front of the ICU at Burn Institute 24 hours a day and night. Someone’s son, someone’s husband, and someone’s parents are fighting death in the hospital. When the doctor or nurse came out of the ICU, they thought that the news of death had come. That is, they are always in fear of the news of the deaths of their relatives. This is how the families got the news of the deaths of 11 people. Nine family members have lost their only functional person. There was no one left to see these families. The children are forced to leave their studies and go to their father’s profession because of the urge of the stomach. It was learned while talking to the relatives waiting in front of the ICU at the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. They said, We are all over. Their cries created a heartbreaking scene in front of the ICU. There is no language to comfort them. The relatives of other patients present could not hold back their tears.
Every day, how many deaths are happening due to a gas cylinder explosion somewhere in the country? Those who sell gas cylinders do not tell the buyers anything about their usage. While this seems normal to the families of day laborers, they are not informed about the dangers that it can pose if they are unaware. Gas cylinders are being sold everywhere for the sake of profit. How many lives are lost every day because of this carelessness? Who will take the responsibility? The victims said, ‘Are the relevant authorities not responsible? I was just sitting and watching the scene of death. The bereaved said regretfully that we who are losing our relatives, whose negligence has caused so many deaths, seek justice from Allah. Who will run the families of the families who have died in this way? How will children learn?
Meanwhile, the doctors and nurses of the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery are working tirelessly to provide maximum medical care to the burn victims due to the gas cylinder explosion. There is no shortage of treatment. Health Minister Dr. Samanta Lal Sen is monitoring their medical care all the time. All kinds of cooperation are going on. The relatives of the patients waiting in the hospital said that the health minister takes care of the treatment, and he also takes care of us every day. He is really a good person. There is no fault in the sincerity of doctors and nurses. I don’t know where we would have gone without this hospital. Working doctors say that the treatment of burn patients is very expensive. However, the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery is providing free medical services. The patient’s relatives said that many poor patients like us are saving their lives every day by getting free medical care in this hospital. Medical services in the hospital, the food and drink environment—everything is of high quality.
Eyewitnesses and victims said that in the house where the incident took place, someone from the family wrapped the hot cylinder with a wet cloth and left it outside. Many locals came forward to see what was going on out of curiosity. No one understood that the gas coming out of the cylinder was spreading throughout the whole area. At that time, the fire spread to the entire street when he went to another house next door to cook the stove. Everyone is burned by that. After that incident, 32 severely burned people were brought to Dhaka’s Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute at night. Among them, a 4-year-old child named Taiba and a 45-year-old man named Munsoor Ali Akand died on Saturday. Another 45-year-old, Suleiman Molla, died while undergoing treatment on Friday. Then on Sunday morning, a 38-year-old named Ariful Islam and a 25-year-old named Mahidul Khan died at 7:30 a.m. Mahidul’s wife, Nargis Akhtar (22), died on Sunday evening.
