Death toll from Bangladesh mosque gas explosion rises to 24

Survivors in critical conditions as anger mounts over gas leak blamed for blast

A man writes on the coffin of a burns victim after the gas explosion at a mosque on September 6, 2020. AP

The death toll from a gas explosion that tore through a Bangladesh mosque has risen to 24, officials said on Sunday, as rescuers described how survivors jumped into an open sewer to escape the flames.

Worshippers were at Friday evening prayers when the blast sent a ball of fire through the mosque in the central district of Narayanganj, near the capital, Dhaka.

Eight people, including the mosque’s imam and muezzin, died overnight, said Samanta Lal Sen, a spokesman for a burns hospital in Dhaka.

“The conditions of 13 injured people were critical. Bodies of some of the injured were 70-80 per cent burnt,” Dr Lal Sen said.

He feared the toll could rise.

"It is tough to survive if anyone has more than 30 per cent of his body burnt," Dr Lal Sen said.
Forty-five people were injured, police said.

Mohammad Salim said he rushed to the mosque after the explosion, which shook the neighbourhood.

Mr Salim said burnt worshippers threw themselves into an open sewer next to the mosque.

“They wailed ‘Save, save us’ as they rolled in the sewer water to cool their burnt bodies,” said Mr Salim, who lost two cousins and a brother-in-law in the explosion.

"Their faces were charred and were beyond recognition. I lifted three of them out of water.

"As I touched them, their skin peeled off their bodies. We took them to a hospital on rickshaws.”

There has been growing anger after the committee running the mosque claimed the state-run gas company had demanded a bribe to fix leaking gas pipes quickly.

“A probe body is looking into how the explosion occurred and whether there was any negligence on our part,” said the company’s managing director, Ali Al Mamun.

Investigators suspected a spark from an air conditioner, which came on after a power cut, started the blaze.

The committee’s president, Abdul Gafur, said the mosque started experiencing problems with the gas pipes a few days earlier.

Local fire chief Abdullah Al Arefin, who is part of the team investigating the explosion, said the committee smelt gas for the past seven days.

“But they did not have any idea that this could lead to such a big fire,” Mr Al Arefin said.

Bangladesh’s Energy Minister, Nasrul Hamid, visited the site and ordered an investigation into the committee’s allegations, a ministry spokesman said.

Safety regulations are often flouted in Bangladesh, a nation of 168 million people.

Hundreds are killed in fires each year.