Dhaka, Feb 26 (UNB) – Two brothers were killed and three other members of their family were injured in a gas explosion in the city’s Uttara area on Friday. Shalil bin Shahnewaz, 15, and his younger brother Zaran, aged 14 months, succumbed to their injuries at the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). Shalil received 88 percent burns while Zaran 74 percent. Quoting victims’ relatives, DMCH police camp in-charge Mozammel Haque said leaked gas went up in flames after Shahnewaz, 50, an employee of the US Embassy in Dhaka, lit the gas stove in the kitchen of their 6th floor residence at Road-3 of Uttara Sector-13 around 7am. Shahnewaz, his wife Sumaiya, 40, and their three children — Shalil, Zarif, 11, and Zaran — suffered burn injuries in the incident, he said. They were taken to the DMCH burn unit where Shalil died around 5:15pm while Zaran at about 6:50pm. Mozammel said the three other family members were undergoing treatment at the DMCH burn unit where the condition of Shahnewaz and his wife was stated to be critical as they received 95 percent and 90 percent burns respectively. Zarif suffered only 11 percent burn injuries.
