Moghbazar blast: Death toll rises to 10

The death toll from Sunday's gas explosion that brought down a building near Moghbazar's Wireless Gate and extensively damaged surroundings rose to ten Thursday, as one more person succumbed to his burn injuries at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).

The deceased was identified as Mohammad Nur Nabi, 30, a van puller by profession.

Nur Nabi sustained 90 percent burns in the explosion on June 27 and since then he had been undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit of Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

He breathed his last around 4:30 am on Thursday morning, said Dr Partha Shankar Pal, resident medical officer of the hospital.

Nur Nabi had been living at a mess in the city’s Elephant Road, working to support his wife and six-year-old who stayed in their village home.

Seven people were killed and more than 66 others injured after a powerful explosion ripped through a building near Moghbazar Wireless Gate on Sunday evening.

On Tuesday, firefighters pulled out the body of a 65-year-old security guard from the debris of a three-storey building where the deadly blast occurred.

Besides, another victim Imran Hossain succumbed to his injuries at the burn unit of the hospital on Wednesday.

Earlier, police lodged a case against unidentified persons for causing death due to negligence in connection with the blast.

An FIR in the case was filed at the Ramna police station on a complaint by sub-inspector Rezzaul Karim, Officer-in-charge Monirul Islam told UNB.

Police formed a seven-member committee to investigate the blast on the following day.

The additional police commissioner of Counter-Terrorism and Transnationals Crime (CTTC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) will head the committee, the Bangladesh Police Headquarters said in a release on Monday.

The committee has been asked to investigate the explosion and recommend the prevention of such incidents in future.  It will also coordinate with the committee formed by the Fire Service and Civil Defence, said the release.

Earlier that day, Brig. Gen. Md Sazzad Hussain, director-general of Fire Service and Civil Defence, said that they had formed a five-member committee to investigate the explosion.

Both the committees have seven working days to submit their reports.