Tongi cylinder blast: Daughter Tanisha dies two days after her parents, wiping out a whole family
Tanisha (16), who was burned in an explosion caused by a cooking gas cylinder leak in Tongi, Gazipur, has died in hospital, two days after her father and mother. She died at around 9:30am on Friday (23 October) at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka.
Arifur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Tongi West Police Station, confirmed Tanisha's death. He said the process of handing the body over to the family after completing legal formalities was under way.
Tanisha had been in critical condition in the intensive care unit of the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery since Wednesday (21 October) with burn injuries. Despite all the doctors' efforts, she could not be saved.
Earlier, at around 8pm on that same Wednesday, Tanisha's father Lal Chan Mia (60) and mother Nasima (50) died while undergoing treatment at the same hospital. In other words, all three members of the family died within just two days.
The incident began at around 7am on Wednesday (21 October). Lal Chan Mia's family lived as tenants in Fakhrul Hasan's house next to Master Bari in the Mudafa area under Tongi West Police Station. That morning, gas from a cooking cylinder pipe leaked and accumulated inside the home.
The accumulated gas suddenly exploded and fire spread within moments. Lal Chan Mia, his wife Nasima and their daughter Tanisha, who were inside the house, were all burned.
Neighbours rescued them and admitted them in critical condition to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in the capital. It was there, one after another, that all three died while undergoing treatment.
Tanisha's uncle Jihad Ali said his brother-in-law and sister died at 8pm on Wednesday, and his niece Tanisha died on Friday morning. He said preparations were under way to bring Tanisha's body back to their village home from the hospital after legal formalities.
The tragic end of every member of a family has cast a deep shadow of grief over the area. The incident shows once again how an apparently small fault, such as a leak in a kitchen gas cylinder pipe, can destroy an entire family.
Every such accident renews the importance of caution in using gas cylinders — regularly checking pipes and regulators, and, if a leak is smelled, not lighting any flame and quickly arranging ventilation. The fate of Tanisha's family has brought that need for caution to the fore once again.
Police said Tanisha's body would be handed over to the family after legal procedures are completed. For the relatives, all that remains now is arranging the burials of three bodies and carrying this irreparable grief.
