The death toll from a suspected gas cylinder explosion at a residential building in Narayanganj’s Kachpur has risen to four, after the last surviving victim succumbed to his injuries on Friday (16 October), six days after the incident.
The latest victim, Rony, 19, died on Friday morning while receiving treatment at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka.
Dr Sultan Mahmud Shikder of the institute confirmed the death, bringing the number of fatalities from the explosion to four.
The tragedy unfolded in stages as all four victims, who had been undergoing treatment for severe burns, died between October 14 and 16.
Rozina, 30, was the first to die on Wednesday afternoon (14 October). Her husband, Sharif, 34, succumbed to his injuries early Thursday, followed by Rozina’s brother Riaz, 22, later that day.
Rony, another tenant of the building, had suffered the most extensive injuries, with burns covering 70% of his body.
According to hospital information, Rozina sustained burns to 60% of her body, while Sharif and Riaz each suffered 40% burns.
The explosion occurred around 1:30am on October 10 inside a second-floor room of a six-storey residential building in the Sonapur area of Kachpur.
The blast, reportedly triggered by a leaking gas cylinder, left all four occupants critically injured.
Residents in the neighbourhood rushed to the building after hearing the explosion and helped rescue the injured.
The victims were subsequently taken to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka, where they remained under treatment until their deaths.
Although a gas cylinder leak is suspected to have caused the explosion, the precise circumstances surrounding the incident have not been independently established.
With Rony’s death, none of the four people injured in the blast survived.