Four people including three of a family sustained critically burn injuries in a gas explosion in Saturia municipality of Munshiganj early Tuesday.

The injured were Rashedul Islam, 40, his wife Sonia Akter, 30, their two-and-half-year-old son Rifat and their shop staff Faruk Hossain, 35. They were residents of Roilla village under the municipality.

Staff Faruk was residing with the family at the flat.

Of them, the couple and their child were undergoing treatment at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in the capital while staff Faruk in Munshiganj Sadar Hospital.

Dr SM Ayub Hossain, residential physician of the burn hospital, said Rashed received 85 per cent burn, Sonia 20 per cent and Rifat 40 per cent respectively. All the injured are in a critical condition.

Read: Two die a week after Sylhet gas cylinder blast

Injured Faruk said Rashed, a butcher by profession, woke him up to go to the shop in the early morning and they smelt a bad odor in the flat.

A fire broke out with a big bang in the flat when Rashed was about to ignite his cigarette by match; he said “I don’t know what happened later”.

Bashir Ahmed, an official of Manikganj Fire Service and Civil Defense Department, said the family might have slept closing all doors and windows of the flat at night after keeping the gas line open.  

“The accident might also have been from a gas explosion”, he said, adding that the reason behind the accident will be known following investigation.