Last Member of Family Burned in Tongi Gas Leak Blast, Tanisha, Also Dies — All Three Are Gone

All three members of the same family burned in an explosion from a gas leak in Tongi, Gazipur, have now died. Tanisha, 16, died on Friday morning (23 October) while undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, completing the deaths of all the family's burned members.

The institute's resident surgeon, Dr Sultan Mahmud Shikdar, said 86 percent of Tanisha's body had been burned. Despite the doctors' efforts, it was not possible to save her with burns of that extent.

Before her, Tanisha's father Lalchan (60) and mother Nasima (50) had died while undergoing treatment at the same institute. In other words, the father, mother and daughter burned in the explosion all lost their lives one by one while in treatment.

The incident began at around 6 am on Wednesday (21 October). In the Cherag Ali Market area of Tongi, Gazipur, a father, mother and child of the same family were burned in an explosion from a gas leak.

Tanisha's husband, Naim Mia, said a fire broke out in the ground-floor home in the morning when a gas cylinder leaked and exploded. He said the father, mother and daughter were burned in that fire.

The burned victims were rescued and admitted to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery that same morning. All three were receiving continuous treatment there.

The family's village home is in Phulpur, Mymensingh. Tanisha's father-in-law and mother-in-law were workers at a local garment factory, and Tanisha was a madrasa student.

Naim Mia said that with Tanisha's death on Friday, all three of the burned victims had died. That statement from the family has come forward as the final confirmation of this tragic outcome.

The loss of all three members of a family in a single explosion from a gas leak has cast a shadow of grief over the area. An incident of this kind, in which a cylinder leak catches fire during morning cooking or daily work, has again raised questions about the safety of gas use in residential areas.

Since the explosion, there had been concern over the condition of all three people in treatment at the hospital. After the father and mother died one by one, the last hope centred on Tanisha; with her death on Friday morning, that hope has also ended.

The fact that 86 percent of her body was burned itself shows how serious Tanisha's injuries were. Doctors at the burn institute continued trying to save her, but in the end those efforts did not succeed.

After the deaths of all three, the remaining formalities of receiving the bodies and burial now lie ahead for the family's other members and relatives. Attention will remain on whether any investigation or further steps are taken to determine the exact cause of the gas leak and where responsibility lies.