Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Saeed Khokon visiting Bakshi Bazar in Old Dhaka following agitation by the people of the area when the electricity connections were being disconnected in the area (inset) on Saturday — FE photo Three people were injured in a blast at a scrap metal shop in the Old Dhaka's Chawkbazar area on Saturday afternoon, after 10 days of devastating fire in the area.
The three victims were identified as Nure Alam, Suman Khan and Suman, Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) police outpost Sub Inspector Bacchu Mia said.
All the victims were aged around 30, he said.
They were processing metallic bottles like colour-spray and body spray at the shop located at Kamalbag near embankment on the bank of the Buriganga River.
The locals took the victims to the DMCH burn unit for treatment, said Bacchu Mia.
Quoting the attending doctor, he also said the victims were sustaining burn injury in different parts of their bodies.
Contacted, Chawkbazar police station Sub Inspector (SI) Masudur Rahman said the locals doused the fire within a short time before the fire service civil defence members reached the spot.
The SI also said it was immediately not known how the fire broke out.
Meanwhile, news agencies add: Electricity and gas connections of a building that housed a chemical warehouse were cut off in the city's Bakshi Bazar area on Saturday noon amid protests by locals, reports UNB.
It was part of a drive launched in the aftermath of the February 20 fire at Chawkbazar that has so far claimed 71 lives.
In the morning, the taskforce formed by Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) to evict chemical warehouses in the Old Dhaka was forced to stop in the face of unrest by locals.
DSCC Mayor Sayeed Khokon later joined the drive around 2.00pm and cut off the utility connections.
Chawkbazar police said a DSCC team found a chemical warehouse at a residential building on Joynag Road in the morning. Locals started agitation and forced the taskforce to halt the drive.
Representatives of Fire Service and Civil Defence, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited, Department of Explosives, officer-in-charge of local police station, Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority, and Dhaka Power Distribution Company were present.
Another victim succumbs to injuries, death toll hits 71
Meanwhile, doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital declared an individual named Zakir dead at 8:15 am on Saturday.
The 35-year-old had suffered burns on 35 per cent of his body, said Burn Unit Coordinator Samanta Lal Sen.
Two victims of the fire are currently receiving treatment at the Burn Unit.
They are Selim, 44, and Mahmudul, 52. Selim has suffered burns on 14 per cent of his body, while Mahmudul has suffered burns on 13 per cent of his body.
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