At least 12 people suffered burn injuries after a gas leak triggered an explosion at the canteen of the Jera Meghnaghat Power Plant in Sonargaon upazila of the district on Wednesday.
According to officials, the blast occurred when leaked gas-believed to have accumulated in the enclosed canteen-ignited as someone attempted to light a stove after cooking had finished.
The incident took place around 1pm at the Jera Meghnaghat Power Plant canteen in the Meghna Ghat area of Pirojpur union in the upazila.
The injured were rescued and admitted to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka.
Injured were identified as Monir Hossain, 45, Al Amin, 40, Nazmul Alam Khan, 40, Saiful Islam, 30, Ramizul, 45, Md Amir, 25, Shankar, 25, Kawsar, 30, Tuhin Sheikh, 30, Osman Gani, 30, Suprabhat Ghosh, 42, and Badrul Haider, 50.
Dr Shawon Bin Rahman, resident surgeon at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, said 12 patients were brought to the hospital in the afternoon.
Fakhrul Islam, safety officer of the power plant, said four of the injured - Md Amir, Shankar, Kawsar, and Al Amin - were canteen workers, while the others were officials of the power plant.
He said that after cooking was completed, a gas stove had reportedly been left on
Osman Gani, deputy assistant director of the Narayanganj zone Fire Service, said firefighters rushed to the scene after receiving the news.
Sonargaon Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Golam Sarowar said police visited the site after receiving reports of the explosion at the power plant canteen.
