Gazipur cylinder blast: 'Destiny always mocks the poor'

"If you can, please come to the hospital at once. You may not be able to see my son Yeasin again. Doctors have already told me the chance of his survival is slim. If you want to see him alive please come by and see him before he leaves us," a weary Ayesha Khatun told her sister over the phone outside the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn & Plastic Surgery.

Yeasin Arafat, 21, a helper of Taqwa Paribahan Bus, was on his way home to have iftar when he fell victim to a gas cylinder blast on Wednesday some 100 metres away from his house at Top Star Garment slum in Konabari of Gazipur. 

With severe burns, he was taken to the Sheikh Hasina Burn Institute and Plastic Surgery hospital. 

"I saw him inside the ICU. his whole body was bandaged, and my son has turned pale. I couldn't even recognise my son whom I gave birth to," 40-year-old Ayesha Khatun, who works at a garment factory, told The Business Standard.

"Yeasin became a father only weeks ago. His child is only 24-day old.

"If you see my son only then will you understand how much he is suffering. 80% of his body has been burnt. He can't even breathe now.

"He was fasting but he couldn't have the iftar. Destiny always mocks the poor," she said.

Ayesha is not alone. Dozens of family members of the cylinder blast victims are now waiting for their loved ones' return from death's door.

The explosion injured at least 32 people, including 16 who suffered an 80% burn injury. 

In front of a postoperative room at the burn institute, a four-year-old Jannati was waiting for her father.

Her father Jahurul Islam, 40, a fish seller at Gazipur Konabari area, was severely burned on Thursday. 

His wife Dulu, a garment worker, is fighting the battle with her three daughters at the burn unit.

"My uncle sustained 60% burn injuries on her lower portions of the body from waist to legs. He has been kept under observation as his situation is still critical," Nazmul Rana, nephew of Jahurul Islam told TBS.