Chittagong blast: death toll rises to three

The death toll from a gas explosion at a residence in Chittagong’s Halishahar has risen to three, with the victim's uncle becoming the latest to pass away following the deaths of a mother and her son.

The explosion occurred in the early hours of Monday. Due to the severity of their injuries, nine victims were rushed to Dhaka on Monday night for advanced medical care.

Forty-year-old Nurjahan Akhtar Rani passed away while being transported from Chittagong to Dhaka. Her 16-year-old son, Shawn, died at approximately 7:00 AM on Tuesday. Later, at around 12:00 PM on Tuesday, 40-year-old Samir Ahmed—Shawn’s uncle—succumbed to his injuries, according to Assistant Professor Shaon Bin Rahman of the Burn Institute.

Samir had been undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery with 45% burns on his body. Six other victims remain hospitalized.

The incident took place at around 4:30 AM on Monday in a third-floor flat of 'Halima Manzil,' a six-story building in Halishahar’s H-Block. A deafening explosion was followed by a fire, forcing the residents to flee the flat with burn injuries. A total of nine people, including three children from the same family, were burnt in the accident.

The other victims have been identified as Rani’s husband Sakhawat (46), their daughter Umme Aiman Snigdha (10), Samir’s wife Ashura Akhtar Pakhi (30), their two children Aisha (4) and Farhan Ahmed Anas (6), and Sakhawat’s brother Shipon Hossain (31).

According to medical sources, Pakhi and Sakhawat have sustained 100% burns. Additionally, Shipon has 80% burns, Aisha 45%, Aiman 38%, and Anas has suffered 30% burns to his body.