Couple killed in Dohar house fire; 2 children, grandson safe

The deceased were identified as Salam Sikder, 55, and his wife Nasima Begum, 45.

The fire erupted around 1:15am and spread through the house within minutes, trapping five family members inside, said Tamim Hawlader, station officer of the Dohar Fire Service.

Family members managed to break open a window and rescue two daughters and a grandson from the burning house, but Salam and Nasima were unable to escape and died in the blaze.

On information, firefighters and police rushed to the scene and brought the fire under control within five minutes. The bodies of the couple were later recovered from inside the house.

Jannatul, daughter of the deceased couple, however claimed that the house door had been locked from the outside, raising suspicion over the incident.

Tamim Hawlader said the fire had already engulfed much of the house by the time firefighters arrived. After extinguishing the blaze, rescue workers recovered the bodies and handed them over to police.

Abu Bakkar Siddique, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Dohar Police Station, said the fire might have originated from a gas cylinder in the kitchen.

He said the family had applied to receive the bodies without autopsy and the handover process was underway.

An unnatural death case will be filed in connection with the incident.

Dohar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Maidul Islam visited the scene around noon.

The fire cast a pall of gloom over the area as grieving relatives gathered at the scene, reports UNB.