A horrific explosion that took down a three-floor building in Dhaka’s Moghbazar on Sunday night cut his life short and upended his family.
His daughter Mim Akter, a student of class II, was crying in a corner of Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, for her father.
Kashem was driving through Moghbazar, a perennially bustling area, when the building collapsed sending glass and concrete shards flying across a wide area. He was identified as one of the dead soon afterwards. The flying debris from the blast, believed to be from a gas leak, destroyed at least two buses moving through the area.
As grim scenes emerged, police said seven people died in the incident that also left hundreds injured.
“My father was supposed to return home after three days. He brought me Chanachur and chocolate all the time and said he would do it again this time,” Mim said. “I wanted to be a doctor. How can I do that without my father?”
“My father was supposed to return home in three days.”
Kashem’s wife, Sohagi Begum, has no financial means to support the family and now sees a bleak future ahead. She began to sob as she said: “What will become of us?”
Another unsuspecting victim was Md Swapan, 35, who was next to the building after booking a doctor’s appointment for his one-month-old daughter Swapna, identified with a single name.
The Agrani Trading employee, the only breadwinner of the family, was among the dead victims. He also left behind his father Noor Islam, wife Munni Begum and two sons Bishal and Sejan, also identified with single names. “I don’t know what will happen to us now,” said Noor.
Another dead victim, Mostafizur Rahman, 27, was from Mymensingh. He lived in Dhaka’s Shonir Akhra.
Samanta Lal Sen, the coordinator of the burn institute, said five injured victims were receiving treatment there.
Three of them were in critical condition with 90 percent burns: Nurunnnabi, 35, Imran Hossain, 25, and Rasel, 21.
Nurunnabi’s wife Poppy Begum said he was injured while pedalling his van home.
Imran and Rasel were workers of Bengal Meat, which has an outlet next to Shawarma House on the ground floor of the building.
Zafar, 61, and Kalu, 33, were being treated at the general ward of the hospital. They were out of danger, said Resident Medical Officer Partha Shankar Paul.
Among the victims receiving treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital were SM Kamal Hossain, 42, Subhash, 32, Shamim, 30, and Hridoy, 27.
Kamal, a former college teacher from Gafargaon, ran a private coaching centre in North Shahjahanpur. Now he has no students to tutor due to the coronavirus pandemic. He was visiting Moghbazar to have his glasses repaired, his wife Sanwara Khan Sanu said.
Hridoy said he was on a bus under the flyover.
Dr Mohammad Alauddin, a resident physician of DMCH, said Kamal suffered injuries to his head and hand, while Hridoy to his waist.