Rescue operation continues for the third day today at the building in Siddique Bazar of Dhaka’s Gulistan where a deadly explosion claimed the lives of 20 people. Lima Khanam, duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defense headquarters control room, said the firefighting units are still continuing the rescue operation but there was no report of recovery or rescue. Earlier, 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. 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 4:50pm 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. Also read: Gulistan blast: Another injured dies at DMCH, death toll now 20 A four-member probe body headed by Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, director of Fire Service and Civil Defense (Operation and maintenance), has been formed to investigate the explosion. The committee was asked to submit its report within five working days, said Shahjahan Sikder, Deputy Additional Director of Fire service and Civil Defense headquarters media cell.  

Firefighting units have started their rescue operation for the second day this morning at the building in Siddique Bazar of Dhaka’s Gulistan, where 17 people lost their lives in a deadly explosion yesterday. Three firefighting units started the rescue operation around 9 am but no one has been rescued yet, said Khaleda Yeasmin, duty officer of the Fire Service Control Room, around 11 am. Meanwhile, a four-member probe body headed by Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, director of Fire Service and Civil Defense (Operation and maintenance), has been formed to look into the explosion that ripped through the 5-storey building in Gulistan. The committee has been asked to submit its report within five working days, said Shahjahan Sikder, Deputy Additional Director of Fire service and Civil Defense headquarters media cell. Yesterday, at least 17 people were dead and over 60 were injured in a massive explosion at a 5-storey building near a BRTC bus counter in the capital’s Gulistan area. The explosion occurred around 4:50 pm, said Shahjahan Sikder. The authorities handed over the bodies of the 17 in the morning, said Inspector Bachchu Mia, in-charge of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital police outpost. Also read: Gulistan blast: Death toll rises to 17 The 17 deceased were identified as Sumon, 21, son of Momin of Suritola; Munsur Hossain, 40, son of Mosharraf hossain of Jatrabari; Ishak Mridha, 35, son of Dulal Mridha of Barishal; Md Ismail, 42, son of Hossain Ali of Bongshal; Rahat, 18, son of Jahangir Alam of South Keraniganj; Alamin, 23, son of Billal Hossain of Chandpur; Hridoy Mia, 18, son of Hashem Mia of Kishoreganj; Idris Mir, 50, son of Kala Chan Mir of Jatrabari; Mominul Islam, 38, son of Abul Hashem of Chawkbazar; Nodi Begum, 34, wife of Mominul Islam; Moin Uddin, 50, son of Jamir Uddin of Munshiganj; Nazmul Hossain, 20, son of Yunus Hossain of Bongshal; Obaidul Hasan, 55, son of Shaheb Ali of Manikganj; Abu Zafar Siddique, 34, son of Mozammel Haque of Munshiganj; Akuti Begum, 70, wife of Anwarul Islam of Bongshal; Nurul Islam Bhuiya, 55, son of Mohammad Bhuiya of Jatrabari; and Abdul Hakim Siam, 18, son of Dulal of Keraniganj. Meanwhile, hospital sources said according to the relatives, 3-4 people remain missing since the explosion. Among the injured, 11 people have been undergoing treatment at the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. The cause of the Gulistan explosion could not be ascertained yet.      

A fisherman and his son went missing while fishing  in the Karnaphuli River near Evergreen Ghat in Chattogram on Sunday. They are Tapan Das, 45  and Samir Das,15 of Kolagaon in Patia upazila. Read: Fisherman goes missing as boat sinks in Arial Khan Senior officer of Nandakanan Fire Service Mohammad Ali  said Tapan, his son Samir and another one went to the Karnaphuli River for fishing around 5 am. At one stage, Samir fell into the river first and when Tapan jumped into the river to rescue his son their boat sank. On information, divers from the local Fire Service rushed to the spot and conducted a rescue operation.

Divers from the local fire service on Thursday morning recovered the bodies of two children who were swept away, along with their mother, by the onrush of hill water at Sainga Tripura Para in Sadar upazila of Bandarban district. The victims were identified as Krishnabati Tripura, 40, her 12-year-old daughter Bajerung and five-year-old son Pradeep. Read:Floods, landslides hit Rohingya camps hard: UNHCR On Wednesday morning, Krishnabati, along with her two children and her sister, went to the hill area for jhum cultivation, said Jagadish Tripura, a member of ward 3 of Sadar union parishad. In the afternoon, while they were returning home, heavy rains lashed the area. The trio were swept away by the onrush of the hill water in the local river while crossing a fountain amid rains, said Abdul Quader, in-charge of Milchhari police camp. Rumabati Tripura, Krishnabati's 16-year-old sister, however, survived the tragedy. Read:Landslides hit Chattogram, no casualties reported On information, divers from the local fire service went to the spot and conducted a rescue operation. However, they could recover the bodies of the two children only this morning. "Divers from the local fire service recovered the body of Bajerung from near the spot around 7am, while Pradeep's body was fished out of Sangu river," said Jerin Akter, superintendent of Bandarban police.

A schoolgirl went missing while taking bath in the Kirtankhola River in the city on Saturday.

The search and rescue operations for more survivors after a strong earthquake hit Albania early Tuesday morning has ended, Prime Minister Edi Rama said here on Saturday, confirming a death toll of 51.