In their words: Moghbazar explosion victims recount the horror
"All I can remember is a burning black plume thrusting me down on the sidewalk. The flames almost engulfed me as it exploded out of the building."
This is what was experienced by a victim of the deadly Moghbazar explosion that took place on Sunday evening.
Lying in a bed in the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), the unnamed man said, "I can't exactly recall the location but I was on my way to collect an order from the local optometrist in the Moghbazar area. Suddenly, there was a huge explosion and everything turned black.
"That's the last thing I remember before passing out."
Another victim, who was riding on a bus at the time of the incident, described the velocity of the blast as being "faster than lightning".
"The moment I realised something had happened, I hunkered down covering my head with my hands. I could feel the fragments of glass from the bus window raining down on us," he said.
The explosion occurred on the ground floor of a three-storey building near Aarong Showroom in Moghbazar Wireless Gate area in the capital at around 7:30pm.
At least eight people, including a child, were killed and more than 100 people were injured in the blast.
The injured were rushed to Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery (SHNIBPS) and the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
Meanwhile, the Fire Service and Civil Defense have formed a 5-member probe committee that has been asked to submit a report on the explosion within seven working days.
The blast has reportedly damaged several adjacent commercial and private buildings and three buses.
"So far the explosion does not seem like a subversive act. The smell of methane gas is present inside the building thus the possibility of gas accumulation cannot be ruled out," Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed said after visiting the location at 10:30am today.
He noted that the incident will be looked into by the bomb disposal unit of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit to explore that angle as well.
"A bomb attack will leave the mark of four-dimensional destruction, whereas, the blast here manifests one-way destruction. Yet, the investigation will not negate any possible angle."
After the incident, Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam, Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defence Brigadier General Sazzad Hussain, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Shafiqul Islam and managing director of Titas have visited the spot.
