Two siblings die in Ctg house fire

Two siblings were charred to death while asleep in a fire that gutted their house in Chattogram on Monday night, officials said on Tuesday.

The deceased are, Md Minhaz, 12, and his sister Ruhi, 6, both children of Mohammad Idris Mia.

The fire broke out at around 9pm at the house of Idris in Ward No 4 of Saral union in the district's Banshkhali upazila when the family was fast asleep. 

The fire soon engulfed two adjacent houses in the locality.

Speaking with The Business Standard, Nuru Bashar, team leader of Bashkhali fire service, said, "The fire originated from an electrical short-circuit and by the time the firefighting unit reached the spot, both the children were dead." 

Dipak Kumar Singha, a sub-inspector at the Banshkhali police station, said that the police were notified about the deaths.

Meanwhile, the two sisters – who were burnt in a house fire that broke out at their flat in the Bakalia area of the port city on 3 February – have succumbed to their injuries.

The deceased are Sabrina Khaled, a 24-year-old third-year honours student, and Samia Khaled, an 18-year-old second-year HSC student of Government Hazi Mohammad Mohsin College in Chattogram and daughters of Alauddin Khaled.

Sabrina succumbed to her injuries on Sunday and Samia on Monday morning at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery under Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), said their father.

The sisters were at first taken to Chattogram Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) and later shifted to DMCH as their condition deteriorated.

The fire broke out on Thursday at the five-storey building in the Rahattarpul area, where they had their flat.

According to fire service officials, the fire had originated from the leakage of gas from a cylinder on the fifth floor of the building followed by an explosion.