Bangladesh: Explosion In Dhaka Building Leaves 16 Dead, Over 100 Injured

Dhaka Explosion: The number of fatalities is likely to rise as several individuals are believed to be trapped in the building's basement.

An explosion at a building in Old Dhaka's Siddique Bazar has resulted in the deaths of at least sixteen people and the injuries of more than 100 others, said police. According to the bdnews24 news portal, citing the fire service control room, five firefighting units were rushed to the scene following the blast, which occurred around 4:50 pm (local time) on Tuesday.

The Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported that the explosion caused at least 14 deaths and more than 100 injuries.

According to the newspaper, the number of fatalities is likely to rise as several individuals are believed to be trapped in the building's basement.

According to Inspector Bacchu Mia of the DMCH police outpost, the injured were transported to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

“Two of the dead are women. The rest are injured and being treated,” Bacchu Mia said while a fire services spokesperson said that no fire broke out in the building.

The explosion occurred on the bottom floor of a seven-story building that contained several stores selling sanitary products. A part of BRAC Bank was situated in the structure nearby it, a bank representative said.

The blast ripped through the curtains and shattered the bank's glass walls. A bus that was standing on the other side of the road was also damaged.

The blast's cause has not yet been determined by the fire service. Deen Moni Sharma, deputy director of the fire service, claimed that additional information regarding the incident will be provided in due time.

Earlier on Saturday, Officials reported that a fire erupted following an explosion at an oxygen plant in southeastern Bangladesh, injuring at least six people.

They added that the death toll could rise as a rescue operation was ongoing at the plant in Sitakunda, which is 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Chittagong, a port city in the southeast.

A representative of the fire department stated that the explosion's cause was not immediately apparent.

Local government official Shahadat Hossain told Reuters that "six bodies were recovered from the site" and that a rescue operation was ongoing.

According to witnesses and a police official named Nayhanul Bari, a massive bang was heard that shook an area with a radius of up to two kilometers.

In June of last year, a huge fire at a container depot in the area killed 50 people and injured nearly 200.