A man was killed and nine others were injured in an explosion that triggered a fire at a warehouse in Narayanganj’s Nitaiganj on Saturday morning. The deceased was Awlad Hossain, 55, a worker by profession.
The incident took place around 9am at the two-story building where the warehouse was situated on the ground floor. Six firefighting units rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control around 10:25am, according to the Fire Service and Civil Defence media cell.
A portion of the building collapsed due to the explosion, it said.
Seven of the injured, including now-deceased Awlad, were taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), DMCH police outpost in-charge Inspector Bachchu Mia said. “Now, six others are undergoing treatment here.”
Besides, three more victims – Jagadish Sarkar, 65, Shajahan, 40, and Rezaul Karim, 50 – were admitted to Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.
Narayanganj’s Mandalpara fire service Station Officer Hamidur Rahman said the cause of the explosion could not be known immediately. Details will be informed after an investigation, he added.
Fakhruddin, an assistant deputy director of Narayanganj fire service, said the building was declared risky as it may collapse at any time.
Abdul Kadir, president of Nitaiganj Multilateral Cooperative Society, said the former president of the district’s flour mills owners’ association, Ilias Dewan, is the owner of around 100-year-old building which was used as a warehouse of pulses, rice, salt and other products.
The building’s first floor was declared abandoned around 10 years back, he added.
