Filipino woman dies after gas leak fire in Dhaka’s Banani

A 32-year-old Filipino woman died early Monday after suffering severe burns in a fire reportedly caused by a gas leak while she was trying to light a stove at a flat in the capital’s Banani area.

The deceased was identified as Keistin Var Bunag. She died at around 3:20am while undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery (NIBPS).

Confirming her death, the institute’s resident doctor, Sultan Mahmud Shikder, said 63 per cent of her body had been burnt in the incident. Her respiratory tract was also damaged by smoke or hot gases, he added.

According to local residents, the fire broke out at around 7am when Keistin tried to light a gas stove while preparing food at a flat on the first floor of House No. 66, Road No. 7, Block B/1, in Banani. A gas leak reportedly triggered the fire, leaving her critically injured.

She was initially taken to Continental Hospital in Gulshan. As her condition worsened, she was transferred to the NIBPS for further treatment.

Al Amin, the building manager, said Keistin arrived in Bangladesh on 15 October on a tourist visa and rented the apartment for two months with a Japanese national, Nakashima Fumiaki.

He said she caught fire while trying to light the stove to prepare food in the morning. Fumiaki was not at the apartment when the incident occurred.

Speaking to reporters later, Fumiaki said Keistin was his friend and that they had been staying together in the apartment since 15 October.

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Habibur Rahman, inspector and in-charge of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) police outpost, said the Filipino national died while receiving treatment at the burn institute’s ICU.

Her body has been kept at the institute’s morgue for an autopsy. The incident has been reported to Banani Police Station, and legal procedures are underway.