The casualty count resulting from the gas line explosion in an apartment in Halishahar, Chattogram, has escalated to three as an overseas resident, who had come back to observe Eid, passed away from his injuries at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka yesterday. Samir Ahmed Sumon, aged 40, succumbed around noon while receiving care at the institute’s high dependency unit. He had sustained 40 percent burns and severe airway trauma, as reported by Shawon Bin Rahman, a resident surgeon at the facility.
Earlier in the day, Sumon’s nephew, Md Shawon, aged 16, also passed away around 7:00 am after being on life support since Monday evening, according to his uncle Md Jamshed. Additionally, Sumon’s sister-in-law, Nur Jahan Begum Rani, aged 40, had died while being transferred from Chattogram to Dhaka.
Following the explosion, nine family members, including Sumon, were referred to the burn institute from Chattogram Medical College Hospital for advanced treatment. Sumon, who resides in Poland, had returned to Bangladesh to spend Ramadan and Eid with his family. He had traveled from Cumilla to Chattogram for a nasal surgery, resting at his brother’s house post-surgery and was scheduled to return to Cumilla on February 27, as mentioned by his cousin Muhammad Milon.
Sumon’s plans to return to Portugal after Eid were shattered by the tragic accident. Recalling his final conversation with Sumon, Milon recounted how Sumon, in pain, asked for water and inquired about his wife and children. Currently, Sumon’s wife, Pakhi Akter, aged 31, is fighting for her life with 100 percent burns, while their children, Anas, aged 8, and Ayesha, aged 4, are in critical condition.
Heart-wrenching scenes unfolded at the burn unit as Pakhi’s mother, Monowara Begum, tearfully explained that her daughter struggles to speak due to facial swelling, with the children crying for their mother from the intensive care unit. Family members noted that the explosion occurred early Monday morning while the family was together, waiting for the Fajr azan after Sehri, with the tragic blast occurring just before the prayer call.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Shakhawat Hossain Bakul visited the victims at the burn institute, assuring the families of the government’s commitment to providing the best possible treatment. In a separate incident, four family members, including a toddler, suffered burns in an explosion due to a gas line leakage in Daudkandi upazila of Cumilla. The injured individuals were promptly taken to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, with varied degrees of burns reported, attributed to an illegal gas connection that had been reconnected unlawfully.