At least 35 injured in a gas cylinder blast in Gazipur

At least 35 people, including women and children, have been injured in a gas cylinder explosion at Konabari area in Kaliakair of Gazipur this evening (13 March).

Most of the injured have been admitted at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery with burn injuries, Health Minister Dr Samanta Lal Sen told the media. Some have been admitted to a local hospital.

Pradeep Chandra Das, associate professor of Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, said 34 people have been admitted to the burn unit, with 15 of them suffering more than 50% burns.

Of the injured, five are undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), he said.

Ten of the injured have been identified so far, said Dhaka Medical College Hospital Police Outpost In-Charge Inspector Md Bachchu.

They are: Yasin, Md Kuti, Soleiman, Md Akash, Noor Nabi, Md Ariful, Nirab, Mohammad Naeem and Moshammat Shilpi.

Among the injured five are from a family. 

Fire Service and Civil Defence's Gazipur regional Deputy Director Abdullah Al Arefin told media that at around 6:00pm, just before the iftar, a cooking gas cylinder exploded at a colony next to Top Star Garment factory.

A firefighting team is working at the spot.