Home ›› 11 Mar 2023 ›› Front
Azam, who was injured in the Siddique Bazar blast, is now admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery with 80 per cent burn. He is now on life support, and his pregnant wife is concerned about the family’s future.
She is waiting for her husband to recover and return to normal life. Talking to The Business Post on Friday, Azam’s sister Liza said, “We only ask Allah to save my brother and return him to us so that he can lead a normal and healthy life again.”
Azam has been working at Bangladesh sanitary shop in the seven-storey Queen’s Sanitary Market, where the blast occurred on Tuesday, for a long time. He lives in Moghbazar with his family. As he provides for the whole family, they now wonder what the future holds.
Another injured victim is Hasan Uddin Khalil, who is also admitted to the ICU at the same hospital. He is on life support as well. The blast sent him flying before he fell to the ground. Apart from burns on his face, pieces of broken glass entered different parts of his body.
His brother-in-law Jamal Uddin said, “Hasan has been selling schoolbags on the footpath in front of the market for two years. I sell curtains at a makeshift stall next to him. However, I was not there when the incident happened.”
Hasan has three children aged seven, four, and two. Besides his own family, he also provides for his parents. His whole family lives in Noakhali.
Jamal is now deeply worried as Hasan is the only breadwinner in the family. He has not informed Hasan’s family of the incident. “They are already under a lot of stress, and I do not want to make it worse for them.”
Jahan Sardar, a bachelor’s student at Government Dohar Nawabganj College, was returning home after class on Tuesday afternoon by bus. Seeing traffic jam in Siddique Bazar, he got off and started walking. Soon after, he was injured in the blast and was taken to Sheikh Hasina burn institute.
His father Jahangir Alam said he is now receiving treatment in the ICU with 50 per cent burn. “My son wants me to be in the ICU when he eats, but I cannot go there. You will not understand the pain, and I cannot explain it to you.”
He also said, “The only hope is now the Almighty. Jahan is my only son, and I am praying to get him back in good health.”
The hospital’s Chief Coordinator Dr Samanta Lal Sen told reporters Thursday they are treating eight people. “Among them, three are in the ICU. Of the three, two are on life support. We are trying our best to help them get well soon.”
He said the five other victims are not out of danger yet.
In addition to the eight patients at Sheikh Hasina burn institute, 15 others are receiving treatment at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). Of the 15, five are being treated at the hospital’s burn unit.
Their families said on Friday they were concerned about whether the patients would be able to return to normal life. They also said they were hoping everything would turn out fine eventually.
Arman Bhuiyan, who works at Azad sanitary shop on the first floor of the market, is among the five DMCH burn unit patients. He sustained 13 per cent burn. Asad Hossain Tony, who works at Bangladesh sanitary shop on the ground floor, is receiving treatment in a bed next to him with 15 per cent burn.
Both were injured in their hands and legs in the explosion. They do not know if they will fully recover and get back to normal life.
Faiju and Mostofa Kamal Munshi, who are also being treated at the DMCH burn unit, were travelling by bus in Siddique Bazar on the day of the incident. After seeing traffic jam on the road, they got off and started walking when the blast occurred.
They said they only heard a bang and could not remember anything after that. Later, they discovered themselves in the hospital.
The fifth patient at the burn unit, Shahin Alam, sustained 7 per cent burn on his face. His hand was also injured in the blast when he was hiring a CNG-driven auto-rickshaw to go to Uttara after buying some materials for the company he works for. His parents Azizul Islam and Jahanara Begum were praying to get their son back when this correspondent talked to them.
The condition of 14 patients out of the 15 at DMCH is improving, the hospital’s Director Brig Gen Md Nazmul Haque told reporters on Thursday. He said the other patient named Rajan is still in ICU.
The blast took 22 lives and left more than 100 injured.
