A deadly explosion in a three-story building in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka left at least seven people dead and injured about 50 others.
The massive blast destroyed one building and damaged seven nearby buildings in the Moghbazar area of central Dhaka on June 27 evening, police said. The strong impact of the blast set off an electric transformer nearby and set ablaze three public buses full with passengers.
A restaurant on the ground floor of the building was the epicenter of the blast, police confirmed.
A horrific scene descended on Dhaka Community Hospital as scores were rushed for treatment with bloodied bodies amid a frantic search for beds, blood and medical supplies.
Five people with severe burns were admitted to the burns unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, with doctors struggling to save three patients in critical conditions.
The cause of the explosion is still unknown. Police investigators and firefighters are trying to find out the cause, with the primary suspicion a gas leak.
I had just returned from the office when suddenly there was a loud bang. Everyone in my house started screaming in fear
Police have formed a five-member committee that must deliver a report within seven days.
Christian banker Sumon Mondal, 44, has been living in the building next to the blast-hit building for five years. The loud noise and huge shock wave forced all of his family to scream for fear of their lives.
“I had just returned from the office when suddenly there was a loud bang. Everyone in my house started screaming in fear. The windows of our building were broken. When I looked at the downstairs of the ill-fated building through the window, I saw its ground floor was destroyed,” Mondal, a member of the Church of Bangladesh, told UCA News.
Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed told journalists that the blast caused one-sided destruction, which means from a technical point of view that there was no reason to worry about sabotage. He said there was a smell of methane gas inside the building.
Holy Cross Father Liton H. Gomes, secretary of the Catholic bishops’ Justice and Peace Commission, condoled victims of the blast, promised necessary help and asked the government to take necessary action after the cause of the explosion is determined.
“Such accidents are happening in our country due to a lack of law enforcement. There is no supervision of electricity and gas lines. Businesses in residential areas are illegal but they are operating freely,” Father Gomes told UCA News.
“People need to be aware of law and the government needs to strictly supervise and implement related laws.”
Catholic charity Caritas is monitoring the situation so that it can assist victims as necessary, Father Gomes added.
Deadly gas and electric blasts are nothing new in Bangladesh.
Last September, some 26 Muslims died in a deadly blast in a mosque in Narayanganj district near Dhaka. Investigators found a leak from an underground gas pipeline on which the mosque was constructed as the cause of the tragedy.
In 2016 and 2017, boiler blasts in two industrial factories in the Tongi and Gazipur areas near Dhaka left some 44 workers dead and scores injured.
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