Staff Reporter :
At least 21 people have died after they sustained burn injuries in a blast during prayers at a mosque in Narayanganj.
The explosion, which fire service officials suspect, was caused by leakage from a pipeline, on Friday night at the Baitus Salat Jam-e-Mosque in Narayanganj district just outside the capital, Dhaka.
Dozens were rushed to Dhaka’s state-run specialized Burn and Plastic Surgery Hospital, most of them with severe burns.
Twenty-one people, including a child, died at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka, while 19 others are still undergoing treatment there, confirmed Dr Samanta Lal Sen, Chief Coordinator of the Institute.
The deceased are Abdul Maleque, 60, Delwar Hossain, 45, Imam and Muazzin of the mosque, Delwar’s son Junayed, 16, Jewel, 7, Mainuddin, 12, Joynal, 38, Md Jamal Abedin, 40, Sabbir, 21, and his younger brother Jubayer, 18, Humayun Kabir, 72, Kuddus Bepari, 72, Ibrahim Biswas, 43, Mostofa Kamal, 34, Md Rifat, 18, Md Rashed, 30, Nayan, 27, Kanchan Hawlader, 50, Russel, 29, Baha Uddin, 55, Mizan, 36, and Nadim, 45, a journalist of local newspaper.
Hundreds of distraught people thronged to the hospital to collect the bodies of their loved ones who lost their lives in tragic incident.
Families were seen crying for their loved ones and their friends and relatives.
Dr Samanta Lal Sen said that 37 injured people were admitted to the hospital after the blasts at the mosque. All had suffered 70 to 80 per cent burns. “The death toll could rise further as many of them were in critical conditions. We are trying our best to save the lives,” he added.
Fire officials said, gas that accumulated in the mosque after pipeline leaks likely triggered the blasts.
“We primarily suspect that gas leaked from the pipeline and accumulated inside the mosque since the windows were shut. When the air conditioners were turned on, the gas could have exploded,” said Abdullah Al Arefin, a Senior Fire Service Official.
At least six air conditioners also exploded inside the mosque because of the impact of the blast. It also blew out windowpanes of the mosque.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the blast.
The Fire Service, Titas Gas and the district administration have formed separate investigation committees to investigate the incident.
On Saturday, Narayanganj Superintendent of Police (SP) Md Zayedul Alam visited the victims at the burn institute and said action will be taken if they final evidence of negligence against anyone in its inquiry.
Besides, the bodies will be handed over to the families without any autopsy if they want, he added.
About the incident, witnesses said they found five to six people coming out of the mosque as soon as the blast occurred. Worshippers, most of them severely burnt, were found lying on the floor, according to them.
Locals rushed most of the victims to the Victoria Hospital in Narayanganj and to the institute in Dhaka.
They accused Titas Gas Transmission & Distribution Company Limited (TGTDCL) of being inactive to solve a gas leakage issue in the mosque building which was going on for quite a long time. They claimed that they occasionally used to smell gas inside the mosque.
Abu Talha, who lives in the same neighbourhood, told media that the mosque committee had recently filed a complaint over leakage of the gas pipeline. But they did not take any step.
