The death toll from a gas explosion, in Dhaka’s Jurain area on August 14, has reached three as a five-year-old girl succumbed to her injuries today. The deceased was identified as Afsana, daughter of Atahar Ali. Dr Tariqul Islam, resident medical officer of Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, said that Afsana had been undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital with 25 percent burn injuries. She breathed her last around 7:50 am today. Mother, daughter die in Sylhat gas cylinder blast; 4 injured Earlier, on Monday, five members of a family, including Afsana, suffered burn injuries in an explosion apparently from a gas pipeline leak. Among the injured, Atahar Ali, 35, father of the child, and his wife Mukta Khatun, 30, died at the hospital on August 17. Death toll from Gazipur blast stands at two Two more victims, Altaf Sikder, 72, and his wife Morjina Begum, 50, Mukta’s parents, received first aid. Woman injured in Jurain blast dies at DMCH  

Four people including three members of a family sustained burn injuries in an explosion at a residential building in Fatullah of Narayanganj early Sunday (August 13, 2023). Two more people sustained injuries in the incident. Sabuj Khandaker; Rana Miah, his wife Bithi Aktar and their child are now undergoing treatment at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka. Read: Burnt mother succumbs to injuries in DMCH; baby in emergency One of the other injured was identified as fruit seller Abu Kalam who is receiving treatment at National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR). The other injured was given first aid. Neighbours and relatives of the burn victims said a blast occurred on the fifth floor of a six-storey residential building owned by one Aslam Sikdar around 12 am. Later, locals rescued the tenants and sent them to Narayanganj General Hospital. They were subsequently shifted to the capital’s burn institute. Read: Woman burnt to death in Chattogram Fakhruddin, deputy director of Narayanganj Fire Service and Civil Defence department, said doors and windows of the two units of the fifth floor and other valuables were burnt in the blast. Walls of the flat fell on the roof of a semi-pucca house near the building, leaving two more people injured, he said. The reason behind the blast and extent of damages will be known upon investigation, the fire service officer added. Reade more: 2 women among 9 burnt in gas line explosion in Dhaka

Natural gas leaked from a defective fitting at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory where a powerful explosion leveled one building, heavily damaged another and killed seven people, federal safety investigators said Tuesday as they continued to investigate the cause of the blast. One of two leaks at the R.M. Palmer Co. plant in West Reading was traced to a gas fitting that was installed in 1982 and was determined to have fractured, according to an investigative update released by the National Transportation Safety Board. Investigators also determined there was a small leak on a natural gas fitting installed in 2021, the board said. The older fitting, made by DuPont, had a known tendency to crack, and it was added to a federal government list of pipe materials with “poor performance histories" in 2007, the safety board said. But it was left in place during utility work two years ago and remained connected to the natural gas system. 4 sustain burn injuries in explosion from gas leakage in Narayanganj The findings outraged lawyers for the victims' families. “It's one thing to lose a family member because of some unforeseen, unknown hazard,” said attorney Robert Mongeluzzi, who has filed suit against Palmer, DuPont and UGI Corp., the natural gas utility that served the chocolate factory. "But here, this was a problem and a defect that has been known for decades, and that makes the loss and the tragedy even worse." About 70 Palmer production workers and 35 office staff were working in two adjacent buildings at the time of the March 24 blast. Employees in both buildings told federal investigators they could smell gas before the explosion. Workers at the plant have accused Palmer of ignoring warnings of a natural gas leak, saying the plant, in a small town 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia, should have been evacuated. Toxic gas leak in South Africa has killed 16 people, including 3 children, police say UGI, which provided natural gas to the factory complex via two mains, has said there wasn’t any utility work going on in the area, and that it detected no sudden surge in gas usage before the explosion. Safety investigators determined that UGI replaced a service line at the Palmer plant in 2021, but kept the 1982 service tee connected to the system and fully pressurized. “We have reason to believe that UGI was very well aware of the dangerous, defective problems with the DuPont piping, yet left that DuPont piping in place in 2021,” said attorney Andrew Duffy, who works with Mongeluzzi to represent survivors and families of victims. Noting the safety board also found a leak in the new piping, he added: “Seven people lost their lives due to shoddy materials and shoddy work.” Couple who suffered burns in fire from ‘gas line leak’ in Dhaka's Tejgaon dies Civil litigation filed after the Palmer blast said older plastic pipe manufactured by DuPont and others has long been linked to failures around the country. Federal regulators said as far back as 1998 that much of the plastic pipe manufactured for natural gas service from the 1960s through the early 1980s was susceptible to cracking. Investigators said they are looking at the gas leaks as a possible cause or contributor of the chocolate factory blast, but have made no conclusions. “We are not at a point to say what caused the explosion,” NTSB spokesperson Keith Holloway said Tuesday. The cracked fitting was less than two feet from other pipelines that ran between the two plant buildings, including a steam line, a condensate line and several pipelines filled with heated chocolate. Investigators said they also saw a crack in the steam line. UGI said it’s aware of the safety board report and is cooperating. The utility declined further comment on an ongoing investigation. “Our focus and commitment remains with the victims and the West Reading community,” said utility spokesperson Joe Swope. Palmer said in a statement that it remains focused on rebuilding and “doing all we can to help the entire West Reading community recover.” DuPont said it was reviewing the safety board's report but declined further comment, citing the civil litigation.

Seven people were burned dead and another was injured after the gas cylinder of a microbus exploded on Dhaka-Khulna highway at Maligram in Bhanga upazila of Faridpur district on Saturday (June 24, 2023). The deceased included three women, two men and two children but their identities could not be known yet. A fire broke out in the microbus as its gas cylinder went off around 11 am, leaving five people dead on the spot and three others injured, said Tayumul Islam, officer-in-charge of Bhanga Highway Police. Read more: Couple who suffered burns in fire from ‘gas line leak’ in Dhaka's Tejgaon dies Two passengers succumbed to their injuries at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Medical College (BSMMC) Hospital, said Md Shahjahan, superintendent of the district police.   Injured microbus driver Mridul Malo, a resident of Sadar upazila, has been undergoing treatment at BSMMC hospital.   Read more: Wari fire death toll rises to 2 The bodies were kept at the hospital morgue for autopsy, he said, adding that the deceased hailed from Boalmari upazila of the district. Deputy Commissioner Kamrul Ahsan Talukder said they have already formed a five-member probe committee to look into the matter and asked to submit its report within next two days. He said Tk 20,000 was given for burial to the families of each deceased and Tk 10,000 for treatment of the injured driver. Read more: https://unb.com.bd/category/Bangladesh/man-injured-in-narayanganj-tv-blast-dies/117252

Three Bangladeshi peacekeepers were injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Mali on Sunday (May 28, 2023) morning. The blast took place on Sunday at around 9:30 am local time in Mali, when a motorcade of a patrol team under Bangladesh Formed Police Unit (BANFPU-2) reached the remote desert road along the mountains of Gundam-Tongka-Niaphungke Highway, some 15 km off from the Gundam Super Camp in Mali's Timbuktu Region, according to a press release issued from Police headquarters here on Monday evening. The Armoured personnel Carrier (APC), which was carrying the policemen, was also damaged in the incident, says the press release. The Police headquarters did not disclose identities of the three injured Bangladeshi police peacekeepers. Read more: US lauds Bangladeshi peacekeepers' role The patrol team was part of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). According to the press release, the peacekeepers on patrol duty spotted a suspicious hole in the middle of the road. The IED exploded as they maneuvered past the hole. “Due to the intelligence of the police peacekeepers and the APCTs' capability to withstand the high-level explosions, they escaped from greater danger,” said the press release. It is also to be noted that MINUSMA authorities have highly appreciated the members of BANFPU-2, MINUSMA, and Mali as they have performed their peacekeeping duties with utmost professionalism and vigilance. Read more: 3 Bangladeshi peacekeepers injured in Central African Republic IED blast die IED blasts are common in this region of Mali.

An explosion at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania Friday killed two people and left nine people missing, authorities said. Several other people were injured by the explosion at the R.M. Palmer Co. plant, said West Reading Borough Police Department Chief of Police Wayne Holben, who did not confirm the exact number of injured. The explosion just before 5 p.m. sent a plume of black smoke into the air, destroying one building and damaging a neighboring building that included apartments. “It’s pretty leveled,” West Reading Borough Mayor Samantha Kaag said of the explosion site. “The building in the front, with the church and the apartments, the explosion was so big that it moved that building four feet forward." Also Read: Coroner: 7 dead in tornado that ripped through US South The cause of the blast in the community about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia was under investigation, Holden told reporters. Eight people were taken to Reading Hospital Friday evening, Tower Health spokeswoman Jessica Bezler said. Two people were admitted in fair condition and five were being treated and would be released, she said in an email. One patient was transferred to another facility, but Bezler provided no further details. Also Read: US Embassy expects investigation of alleged assault on journo Zulkarnain's brother Kaag said people were asked to move back about a block in each direction from the site of the explosion but no evacuations were ordered. Dean Murray, the borough manager of West Reading Borough, said some residents were displaced from the damaged apartment building. Kagg said borough officials were not in immediate contact with officials from R.M. Palmer, which Murray described as “a staple of the borough.” The company's website says it has been making “chocolate novelties” since 1948 and now has 850 employees at its West Reading headquarters.

The death toll from the explosion in a building in Science Lab area in Dhaka rose to four as another victim died on Tuesday morning. Ayesha Akter Asha, who suffered 38 percent burn injuries, died around 8:30am at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, said Inspector Bachhu Mia, in-charge of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital police camp. The body has been kept at the hospital morgue for autopsy, he added. Read: Gulistan blast: One more victim succumbs to injuries, death toll now 23 Earlier on March 5, three people died and 12 were injured when a three-storey building partially collapsed due to the explosion. Deceased Tushar and Shafikuzzaman were computer operators, and Abdul Mannan was an office assistant of a company that has its office on the building’s second floor. The injured were admitted to different hospitals in the capital. Of them, five were admitted to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.    

The death toll from the massive explosion that ripped through a 5-storey building in Gulistan's Siddique Bazar area has risen to 23, with one more victim succumbing to his injuries today. The deceased was identified as Mirza Azam, 36, son of Shahjahan Mirza from Baufal upazila of Patuakhali district. Azam had been undergoing treatment at the ICU of Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Azam breathed his last at around 9:30 am today (March 11, 2023), said SM Ayub Hossain, resident surgeon of Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Read more: Gulistan blast: Death toll rises to 22 He was admitted to the hospital with 80% burn injuries. Azam worked at a sanitary shop in the five-storey building where the deadly blast occurred. On March 7, at least 17 people were killed and over 100 were injured in a massive explosion in the 5-storey building near a BRTC bus counter in the capital’s Gulistan area. A sanitary materials shop on the ground floor of the building, BRAC Bank office on one of the floors and an adjacent 7-storey building were damaged but no buildings collapsed. Read More: Cousins who went out for tea in Gulistan’s Siddique Bazar never returned Three people, including the owner of the building at Siddique Bazar, were shown arrested in a case over the blast on Thursday. A Dhaka court on Thursday put the three arrested people on a three-day remand.

A Dhaka court on Thursday put the three arrestees including building owners of Siddique Bazar blast, which left 21 people dead, on a three-day remand.  Magistrate Mahbub Alam of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court passed the order after hearing. Before the hearing, Abdul Mabud, Inspector of Detective Branch (DB) police and investigating officer of the case, sought a 10-day remand to the court for proper investigation. Earlier, three people, including the owner of the 7-storey building at Siddique Bazar were shown arrested in a case over the blast. Those shown arrested are Wahidur Rahman, 46, owner of the building, Matiur Rahman, 36, brother of Wahidur and Motaleb Mintu, 36. “The two brothers were detained from Fulbaraia area in the capital on Tuesday and Motaleb was detained from DMCH area on the same night for interrogation. As the building owner had negligence that led to the blast they were shown arrested, said Additional Commissioner (Crime) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Dr. K. Mohiuddin.

Family members are mourning two cousins from the Chandpur district, who left their shop to have tea in Dhaka’s Gulistan area where a deadly blast killed several people on Tuesday (March 07, 2023). Death toll as of now is 20. Family members and relatives are still mourning the deaths of Al Amin, 23, son of Billal Hossain of Paschim Lalpur village, and Mansur Hossain, 24, son of Mosharraf Hossain of Chengarchar village in Matlab North upazila of Chandpur district. They demanded proper investigation into the explosion. Kawsar, younger brother of Mansur, said Al Amin, son of his maternal aunt, visited Mansur’s shop located in Gulistan’s Phulbaria Super Market on Tuesday. After having some conversation, Mansur and Al Amin went out of the shop around 4:15 pm, saying that they would return in 20 minutes after having tea in Siddique Bazar. Also read: Gulistan blast: Another injured dies at DMCH, death toll now 20 “Those 20 minutes didn’t end and they will not return,” cried Kawsar. Later, he heard about the explosion and went out looking for them. Failing to find them, he went to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital where he found the bodies of Mansur and Al Amin. Al Amin was a student of a private college in Dhaka. Md Mohiuddin, officer-in-charge of Matlab North Police Station, said the bodies of the two victims were handed over to their relatives on Wednesday night. Read More: Gulistan blast: Rescue operation goes into 3rd day When the mortal remains of the two young men arrived in their respective areas, a pall of gloom descended on the area. They were buried at their respective family graveyards around 11 pm. On Tuesday, at least 17 people were killed and over 100 were injured in a massive explosion in a 5-storey building near a BRTC bus counter in the capital’s Gulistan area. Meanwhile, two bodies were recovered from the debris yesterday. Read More: Siddique Bazar Blast: DSCC restricts heavy vehicles on Bangshal-Gulistan road Musa Haider, 45, a victim succumbed to his injuries at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital last night, raising the death toll to 20. The explosion occurred around 4:50 pm on Tuesday. A sanitary materials shop on the ground floor of the building, BRAC Bank office on one of the other floors and an adjacent 7-storey building were damaged but no building collapsed. END/UNB/Corr/MAS/KW