At least three people died and twelve others were injured when a building partially collapsed due to an ‘explosion that triggered a fire’ at Dhaka’s Science Lab area.
The deceased were identified as Tushar, Shafikuzzaman, and Abdul Mannan.
Tushar and Shafikuzzaman were computer operators, and Abdul Mannan was an office assistant at a company that has its office on the building’s second floor.
They succumbed to their injuries at Popular Medical College and Hospital, said Md Shahidullah, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of DMP’s Ramna Division.
Akbar, Hafiz, Asha, Jahir, and Ashraf are among the injured. They were admitted to different hospitals in the capital, he said. Five of the injured are receiving treatment at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
The three-storey building collapsed partially after the explosion at around 10:52 am.
A team of the army’s specialists, however, found no use of explosive substances in the explosion that took place on the 2nd floor of Shireen Mansion at Science Lab area on Mirpur Road.
The team comprising members of the bomb disposal unit and chemical disaster response team (CDRT) of Bangladesh Army inspected the explosion site in the afternoon and carried out tests.
Replying to a question from reporters, army’s 57 Engineer Company Commander Major Md. Kaiser Bari said they initially experimented with explosive detection equipment at the scene. After initial observation, they understood that the explosion was not caused by explosives. If any explosives had been used in the blast, they would have known through the test results, he added.
“It could be any kind of explosion. But we need to investigate further to know the actual reason. As we detect explosives with our equipment, so initially we can say that there is no evidence of explosives here. Even no evidence of gunpowder or IED use was found here. The exact cause of the explosion will be known later after further investigation,” he noted.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Khandker Golam Faruq said the collapse of the building following the explosion is not an act of sabotage but an accident.
“No evidence of sabotage was found on the spot and the explosion might have occurred for different reasons. The law enforcement agencies are investigating it,” he said while talking to reporters after visiting the spot.
“We’ll form a committee to probe the explosion and the probe body will take opinions from fire service officials and experts and submit a report,” he added.
Replying to a question about whether the law enforcers found any sign of splinter or destructive elements, the DMP chief said, “They have not found any mark of splinter or destructive elements yet.”
Anwarul Islam, from Fire Service and Civil Defense Headquarters Media Cell, said that four units of fire service were working on the spot.
Quoting locals, he said that the three injured people were taken to a hospital before fire officials arrived. The fire was brought under control at around 11:13 a.m.
