A loud blast followed by dense, black smoke, is how witnesses described the explosion of a balloon vendor's gas cylinder in Dhaka’s Mirpur.
The blast that killed at least six and injured 14, majority of who were pedestrians, occurred at Rupnagar around 3 pm on Wednesday (Oct 30).
Hossain, a street food vendor who was at the scene, said that the balloon vendor came to the scene after 3pm and stood at the mouth of RupnagarRoad No. 11.
“Some children gathered around him and we heard a loud bang within 5-6 minutes. Everything went dark after that,” he said.
“I rushed there after hearing children scream,” he said before adding that after the smoke cleared, he saw a bloodied road and dismembered bodies.
“I screamed and called for people. The police came within 15-20 minutes. Fire Services followed and they recovered the bodies,” Hossain said.
Witnesses said that the balloon vendor himself was thrown at least 20 feet away by the explosion.
Rashida Begum, another street vendor, said that she heard the explosion when she was going home. “Everything was smoky.”
She said that she saw the bodies when the smoke cleared and found her relative Jannat, severely injured on the road.
Another witness Mostafa told Bangla Tribune that the balloon vendor often goes to the area with his van and gas cylinder.
“The explosion was so powerful, that those who were nearby couldn’t hear anything for at least two to three minutes,” he said.
Siam, a fifth-grader of a local school, was injured when he was going to his father’s shop, his uncle Arif told Bangla Tribune.
The injured, most of who are children are undergoing treatment at the Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
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