Chattogram: At least 10 workers sustained burn injuries in an incident of explosion and fire at a gas cylinder warehouse at Charpara of Boiltali area under Chandanaish upazila in the district early this morning.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the burn victims include the owner of the godown, Mahbubur Rahman, 45, along with workers Md Sourav Rahman, 25, Md Kafil, 22, Md Reyaz, 17, Yunus, 26, Md Akib, 17, Md Harun, 29, Idrish, 30, Liton, 28, and Md Saleh, 33. Witnesses reported that the explosion, which led to the fire, occurred when the flame of a worker’s cigarette came into contact with a gas-loaded cylinder. This resulted in multiple cylinders blasting with loud sounds, creating panic in the area and causing the fire to rapidly engulf the entire warehouse.
Locals mentioned that the injured workers were in the process of unloading gas-loaded cylinders from a truck when the incident took place. Upon receiving information, a team of firefighters quickly arrived at the scene, successfully bringing the fire under control after an hour of effort and rescuing the victims.
The injured were initially taken to a local health complex and subsequently shifted to the Burn Unit of Chattogram Medical College Hospital. Dr. Md Khaled of the CMCH Burn Unit stated that some of the injured are in critical condition, with 40% to 70% of their bodies burned.