A day after a deadly explosion in a 5-storey building in Siddique Bazar area of the capital Dhaka, two more bodies were recovered from the debris on Wednesday raising the death toll to 20.
The deceased were primarily identified as Momin Uddin Sumon, 44, owner of a sanitary shop and his employee Robin Hossain Shanto, 20.
Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, an explosion happened at a building at Siddique Bazar in Gulistan, leaving 20 people dead so far, and injuring more than 50.
Mohammad Aktaruzzaman, deputy director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, confirmed it.
He said two bodies were recovered from the basement of the damaged building.
The rescue operation inside the building started in the afternoon after a dog squad identified the presence of the bodies, he added. The operation is being conducted with heavy equipment.
Relatives of the missing victims of Tuesday’s blast have kept their eyes fixed on the rescue team.
A team of firefighters was seen clearing the site and trying to get into the basement.
According to Major Moshiur, deputy director of the bomb disposal unit of RAB, the rescue operation resumed after clearance from authorities concerned to work on the risky building.
With onlookers gathering at the area, the relatives of some missing victims were anxiously waiting for any news of their loved ones.
He said,till now, some three to four families primarily said that their relatives are missing.
So, we think there might be some bodies stuck inside the building, he added.
The explosion occurred around 4:50pm with a big bang on Tuesday at Siddique Bazar in the capital Dhaka.
A sanitary materials shop on the ground floor of the building, BRAC Bank office on one of the other floors and an adjacent 7-storied building were damaged, but no building collapsed, he added.
Visiting the spot on Wednesday, Home Minister Md Asaduzzaman said, the five-storey building has turned risky and the whole building may collapse if pressure is created on it. So a rescue operation in the basement should be started after creating a stable situation.
A four-member probe body headed by Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, director of Fire Service and Civil Defense (Operation and maintenance), was formed to investigate the explosion .
The committee was asked to submit its report within five working days.
Major Morshed Alam, director of the bomb disposal unit of Rapid Action Battalion said,the cause behind the explosion in the 5-storey Gulistan building will be known after examining the samples collected from the site.
He further said, primary samples were collected from the blast site and sent to laboratory for test and the actual reason behind the explosion could be known after examining the samples.
“We entered the damaged building carefully and it appeared that it was not an incident of fire, it’s an explosion. The level of explosion was huge,” Major Morshed said.
There might be multiple reasons including leakage of gas pipeline behind the blast and there is a little possibility of air conditioner blast, he said.
Besides, a dog squad team is working there to check whether there is any existence of humans alive or dead inside the building, said Morshed.
Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company authorities have said that the blast at Siddique Bazar in the city has no relation with gas leakage.
"Our findings from primary investigation indicate that the blast has no relation with any gas leakage," said Titas Gas director (operation) Selim Mia while talking to reporters following the visit of a team of his organisation to the blast site on Wednesday afternoon.
He said the Titas team has not found any presence of gas in the building which was partially damaged after the blast on Tuesday.
He said the team has examined the entire area but found no presence of natural gas.
"There was a gas-riser in the building, but it remained intact. Secondly, if there was any gas leakage, it would have led to a fire incident," Selim told reporters.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan has said local authorities – including the fire service and bomb disposal unit – are competent to form expert opinions on the deadly blasts which occurred in Dhaka and Chattogram recently.
"We have our experts to form substantial opinions over the incidents. In case they fail, we can hire experts from abroad but that won't be necessary," the minister said while talking to the media after visiting the blast site in Dhaka's Gulistan on Wednesday.
Refuting any scope of bias in the investigation findings, he said, "We can't think of any reason why the findings would be partial."
When asked if the probe report will be made public, Asaduzzaman Khan assured that clear instruction has been given to disclose the findings after the investigation is complete.
The owner of the building affected by the explosion has been taken to the custody of the Detective Branch (DB) of police.
DMP DB's head Harun-ar-Rashid confirmed it to the media on Wednesday.
Earlier on Tuesday night, the owner of 'Bangladesh Sanitary' shop of that building Abdul Motaleb Mintu was taken to the custody of DB. Then the owner of the building Wahidur Rahman was taken into custody. Besides, several others were detained for questioning.
It was learnt that one Rezaur Rahman was the owner of the building affected by the explosion at Gulistan. Following his death, his three sons -- Wahidur Rahman, Mashiur Rahman and Matiur Rahman -- inherited the ownership of the building. Of them, elder brother Wahidur Rahman and younger brother Matiur Rahman jointly supervised the building, while the second brother Mashiur Rahman lives in London. Among them, Wahidur Rahman was taken to the custody of DB.
DMP DB's chief Harun-ar-Rashid said, "We have called in the owner of the house and proprietors of the shops for questioning in connection with the explosion. According to the commercial building rules, shops at the basements were not supposed to be sold or allocated. Besides, we will seek answers whether the sewerage lines, septic tanks, water reservoirs etc were regularly supervised and maintained."
He said, "We'll try to ascertain whose negligence was responsible behind the deaths and injuries in the explosion. Besides, we're investigating whether anyone from outside was behind the explosion."
Meanwhile, former Dhaka South Mayor Saeed Khokon expressed satisfaction over the ongoing rescue operation.
Talking to reports, Saeed Khokon said it is Rajuk and the city corporation's responsibility to ensure construction of buildings is in compliance with proper regulations.
Whether it is an accident or sabotage can be said only after the investigation is over, he added.
