Probe committee formed; five bodies yet to be identified

A four-member committee headed by Fire Service and Civil Defence Assistant Director Kazi Nazmuzzaman has been formed to investigate the LPG cylinder blast that left seven people dead and 16 others injured at a garment factory in Savar on Sunday. 
Deputy Assistant Director Hafizur Rahman said that carrying and using LPG cylinders in covered vans in this manner was unsafe.
According to Hafizur, witnesses reported that 10 to 12 covered vans were at the scene when the explosions occurred, although some were later removed. Firefighters found nine cylinder-carrying vans at the site.
Each van contained about 100 cylinders. It was not immediately known whether all the cylinders were filled with gas, he said.
Hafizur said that such vans were not supposed to be used to keep or handle gas cylinders and that the factory’s safety plan was being examined.
No case has been filed over the incident yet.
Only two of the seven deceased have so far been identified, while the identities of the other five victims are yet to be confirmed.
Industrial Police-1 Superintendent Md Mominul Islam confirmed the matter to the Daily Sun on Monday, saying that DNA tests would be conducted to establish their identities. He added that no case had been filed yet over the incident.
The accident occurred around 6:45pm inside the boundary of Pretty Composite Textile Ltd near Jamgora Chourasta in Savar’s Ashulia. A cylinder reportedly exploded while LPG cylinders were being unloaded from a covered van brought for use at the factory.
Several more explosions followed and the fire spread to the van and five to six nearby vehicles.
Four Fire Service and Civil Defence units 

from Zirabo and DEPZ reached the scene around 7:10pm and brought the blaze under control around 8pm after nearly two hours. Several windows of the factory were also shattered by the blasts.
One of the identified victims was Zainab Begum, 55, wife of Md Ali of Isharkandi in Kashimpur, Gazipur. She worked as a tailor near the factory gate.
Zainab was standing outside a tailor shop about 200 yards from the blast site when a cylinder flew through its tin roof and struck her head, killing her on the spot, her relatives said.
The other identified victim was Nazrul Islam, 30, a raw-material seller. He died while undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) later that night.
Firefighters recovered five bodies from inside the factory, including from a burnt lorry. Mominul Islam said that the identities of those victims could not immediately be established.
Ashulia Women and Children Hospital (AWCH) manager Harun-or-Rashid said that 16 injured people were brought to the hospital. Most of them were vegetable vendors and passersby. Two critically burned victims were referred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) for better treatment.
Ashulia police station Officer in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Tarikul Islam said that the cause of the accident was being investigated.
LGRD, labour ministers visit injured victims
Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives, visited DMCH and Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital on Monday to inquire about the condition of those affected by the gas cylinder explosion. Minister of Labour and Employment Ariful Haque Chowdhury was also present on the occasion.
During this visit, they handed over a cash grant of Tk50,000 from the government to the family of Nazrul Islam, who lost his life in the fire.
Moyeen Khan said that they visited the victims in hospitals on an urgent basis to assess the condition of those affected by the fire, following the directives of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. “The Prime Minister gave me immediate instructions from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport just before departing to attend the 81st session of the United Nations. He is constantly monitoring your situation and has pledged to stand by you."
Meanwhile, Minister of Labour and Employment Ariful Haque Chowdhury said, “All necessary measures are being taken to ensure proper medical care for the injured, and cash assistance of Tk50,000 is being provided to the families of both the deceased and the injured.”

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