At least seven people have been killed and more than 100 injured in a blast at the capital’s Moghbazar wireless gate area. According to the fire service and DMP commissioner, the explosion could be from gas.
At least 50 people, including pedestrians, were reported injured in the blast. The condition of 16 of the burnt and injured is critical. The 39 burnt people have been admitted to Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute and Dhaka Medical College (DMC) Hospital.
A three-storey building called ‘Rakhi Neer’ collapsed in that sudden explosion and damaged several nearby buildings.
According to eyewitnesses, drain repair work is going on near the building named Rakhi Neer. Gas line connection leaks, transformers or loud explosions from building generators could be the reason for the explosion. As a result, some parts of the building including the glass of the building collapsed and fell on the buses and vehicles on the front road. The three buses were twisted. A few electricity poles also fell into the road. On the north side of the building, on the opposite side of the road, the huge center, the glass of the Aarong building also broke and fell down. Fifty buildings on both sides of the road were damaged at the beginning of the Moghbazar flyover. On the ground floor of Rakhi Neer there were few businesses including Sharma House, Suites Bengal Meat. Rescuers said, the building was several feet away as the ground floor was completely destroyed after the blast.
According to the fire service and police officials, the fire service personnel went to the spot after receiving the news of the explosion of the air-conditioner (AC) of the Rakhi Neer Bhaban at 79 Outer Circular Road in Mouchak from Maghbazar. The lower part of the building is being investigated to see if there has been an explosion from the generator or gas line that will go after the explosion. The glass and electricity poles of more than 50 nearby buildings have broken and it is being investigated whether there is any electrical disturbance.
DMP Commissioner, who visited the spot at night, told reporters that so far they have learned that seven buildings in the vicinity of Sharma House had been damaged in the blast. In addition, three buses were damaged. A total of seven people died. “Initially, there were no reports of sabotage,” he said. It is believed that the blast took place from the ground floor of the building. Asked if it was sabotage, the DMP commissioner said, “I don’t think so.”
The bomb disposal unit of the DMP’s counter-terrorism unit at the scene at night checked whether the fire was explosive.
The Fire Service and Civil Defense Department has formed an investigation committee to find out the cause of the horrific explosion.
