Death toll rises to 17 in explosion at Siddique Bazar

Staff Correspondent

Dhaka

Two women is wailing at Dhaka Medical College Hospital as they lose their relatives in an explosion at Siddique Bazar in the capital on 7 March 2023.Khaled Sarkar

Death toll in the explosion that took place at a building of Siddique Bazar in the capital rises to 17 and over 100 others injured in the incident.

Deaths of more people are feared from the incident.

A devastating explosion took place at the Siddique Bazar near BRTC bus counter at around 4:45pm on Tuesday. Two adjacent buildings are damaged. One is a seven storied building while another is five storied. Basement, first and second floors of the seven storied building were damaged.

The first floor of the five storied building was damaged and from second floor to fifth floors are offices of BRAC Bank. Some 11 units of the Fire Service are conducting rescue operations.

In the afternoon, the fire service said the place of the incident was adjacent to the BRTC bus counter in Gulistan.

Rescuing the injured from the damaged building in the explosion, over one hundred people are being sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Bodies of 17 people have been brought to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and kept in the emergency department.

At least two of the deceased are women. Details of the deceased, however, were immediately unavailable.

Earlier on Saturday, seven people were killed and score others injured after explosions occurred at an oxygen factory in Sitakunda, Chattogram.

The next day, three people were killed in an explosion at a building at the capital’s Science Laboratory area.