The death toll from the deadly explosion in a seven-storey building in Dhaka’s Gulistan area rose to 23 as one more person succumbed to his injuries on Saturday (March 11) morning 

Mirza Azam, 36, died around 9:30 am while undergoing treatment at the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in the capital. 

Around 80 per cent of the surface area of his body had been burnt in the blast, said Resident Surgeon Dr SM Ayub Hossain.

On Thursday, Yasin Arafat, 26, of Noakhali's Begumganj, who was on life support with 55 per cent burns died.

On the same day, rescuers pulled out one more body from the rubble of the collapsed building, said Anwarul Haque, vice-principal of the Fire Service Training Complex.

On Tuesday, at least 17 people were killed and over 100 were injured in a massive explosion in the building near a BRTC bus counter in the capital’s Gulistan area.

Meanwhile, two bodies were recovered from the debris Wednesday.

Musa Haider, 45, a victim succumbed to his injuries at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital Wednesday night, raising the death toll to 20.

The explosion occurred around 4:50pm on Tuesday. A sanitary materials shop on the ground floor of the building, BRAC Bank office on one of the other floors and an adjacent 7-storey building were damaged but no building collapsed.

A four-member probe body headed by Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, director of Fire Service and Civil Defense (Operation and maintenance), has been formed to investigate the explosion.

The committee was asked to submit its report within five working days, said Shahjahan Sikder, Deputy Additional Director of Fire service and Civil Defense headquarters media cell.

BDST: 1320 HRS, MAR 11, 2023
SMS