'Felt Like Earth Was Trembling': Dhaka Blast Leaves People In Shock, Toll Touches 17

The powerful ‘earthquake-like’ explosion at a seven-story building occurred around 4:50 pm at Old Dhaka’s crowded Gulistan area, leaving 17 dead including two women.

At least 17 people were killed and more than 100 injured in an explosion at a building in the Gulistan area in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Tuesday

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The death toll in a powerful ‘earthquake-like’ explosion at a seven-story building in Bangladesh's capital city on Tuesday has touched to 17 with over 100 people injured.

Eleven firefighting units, comprising 200 firemen, were mobilised at the spot after the blast, which occurred around 4:50 pm (local time) at Old Dhaka’s crowded Gulistan area, the fire service control room said, reported news agency PTI. The blast killed two women so far among others and the toll is expected to rise. The explosion also damaged a bus parked on the opposite side of the building.

Death Toll Touches 17, Over 100 injured

"Sixteen bodies have been found (so far), but the toll could rise as the rescue operation is underway," a fire service official told reporters. "Most of the deaths were caused by a brain hemorrhage,” health minister Zahid Maleque said. One person succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.

However, the reason behind the explosion is not yet known, but local residents suspected chemicals illegally stored inside the building, mostly used as an office and business complex, might have caused the blast.

Several people have been trapped under the rubble of the building. "We have to cut through the concrete to rescue them. The fire service is working on it," the PTI report quoted an official as saying.

 The majority of the deaths were caused by excessive bleeding, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said while visiting those injured in the incident at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Khandker Golam Faruq it is suspected that accumulated gas may have caused the explosion at the building in Gulistan. He added the incident is similar to the blast that took place in the Science Lab area a few days ago.

In fact, the Police also resorted to charging batons to disperse an overenthusiastic crowd at the site of an explosion in the Gulistan area. Even as the police tried to manage the crowd through the use of loudspeakers, people continued to flock to the damaged building to take pictures and videos leading to a chaotic situation, reported the Daily Star.

PM, President Express Grief

Meanwhile, President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina late on Tuesday expressed profound shock and grief over the fatal explosion at a building near a BRTC bus counter in Gulistan. In a condolence message, the president prayed for the salvation of the departed souls and conveyed his deepest sympathy to the bereaved families. 

Hasina, who is presently in Doha, Qatar, and is scheduled to return home on Wednesday afternoon after attending the United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, also offered prayers for the eternal peace of the departed souls. She asked the authorities to take prompt and necessary measures to ensure better treatment of the injured, according to the PM's Press Wing sources, according to the Dhaka Tribune.

Families, Loved Ones in Shock

"The explosion was so powerful that it felt like the earth was trembling," the Daily Star report quoted a local shopkeeper Safayet Hossain as saying.   

Family members of the victims of the explosion are inconsolable as they go into shock. One such family is of the 42-year-old Mansur Hossain and his cousin Al Amin who died in the explosion. Both were in Siddikbazar of Gulistan to buy sanitary ware for Mansur's new flat. Kawsar Hossain, brother of Mansur, who identified the bodies at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, said, "How would I console my father? My brother and cousin have died. Why did you [Mansur] go to the market today?"

Another person who died is a 21 migrant worker called Md Suman who had just returned home from Qatar for a four-month holiday. Suman was planning to get married this time and had even met his to-be wife yesterday.

"Please bring back my brother. He came home to get married. We even went to his bride-to-be's home yesterday...Please get him back," Suman's elder sister Soma Akhter said.

The blast occurred two days after another exposition at a building in Dhaka’s Science Laboratory area that killed three people and injured several others.

Last week, seven people died in an explosion at a private oxygen plant in the southeastern port city of Chattogram, injuring dozens others.