Sonia Akter, a 25-year-old six-month pregnant housewife, died on Sunday afternoon while undergoing treatment for severe burns sustained in a gas leakage explosion in the Kamarpara area of Turag, Dhaka.
She passed away at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Shawn Bin Rahman, the Resident Surgeon of the institute’s emergency department, confirmed her death, noting that the majority of Sonia’s body and her respiratory tract had been severely burnt.
He added that her condition had been critical throughout her treatment.
The explosion occurred at dawn on Friday on the second floor of a building owned by one Abul Kalam, located near Member Bari on Cemetery Road in Sector 10, Turag.
A total of ten people sustained burn injuries in the blast.
Beside Sonia, the victims include her husband Rubel (30), a motorcycle ride-sharing worker; their three-year-old daughter Roza; Sonia’s elder sister Riya (27); Rubel’s cousin Enayet (32); Enayet’s wife Delera (28); their son Junayed (10); Enayet’s younger brother Habib (30); Enayet’s niece Ayesha (19); and another individual named Rubel (35).
According to Sajed Matbor, Enayet’s nephew, the Rubel-Sonia couple lived in the second-floor flat. Enayet, an expatriate living in Dubai, had recently returned to Bangladesh and was visiting the capital with his family from their village in Shibchar Upazila, Madaripur.
Sajed reported that a massive explosion shook the building at dawn, drawing neighbours to the scene. The blast was so powerful that it damaged the walls on both the ground and first floors of the building.
All those present inside the flat were found with burn injuries and were subsequently rushed to the hospital.
