Five Madrasa students critically burned in suspected electrical eccident in Narayanganj

Five child students of a residential madrasa in Fatullah, Narayanganj, sustained severe burn injuries in an apparent electrical accident on the rooftop of their school building on Saturday afternoon. All were admitted to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, where doctors said their conditions were critical.

The incident occurred at around 4:30pm at Mahela Khatun Girls’ Madrasa in Kashipur Hajipara, Fatullah.

The injured students were identified as sixth-grader Jidni, 14; fourth-grader Lamiya Akter Shapla, 13; seventh-grader Sumaiya Akter, 13; third-grader Asiya Akter Afroza, 12; and fourth-grader Atiya, 11.

Madrasa cashier Md Yusuf Ali said all five were resident students who had gone to play on the roof of the three-storey madrasa building in the afternoon.

“After a while, we heard a sound,” Yusuf Ali said. “When we went to the roof, we found the students severely burnt by fire.”

The students were initially taken to a local hospital before being transferred to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

Yusuf Ali said a high-voltage electricity line runs above the madrasa building’s roof. The authorities believe the students may have been electrocuted after coming into contact with the line.

The injured students said they had gone to the rooftop to play and that their bodies suddenly caught fire during play. They could not explain how the fire started.

Sultan Mahmud, resident surgeon at the emergency department of the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, said all five children were in critical condition and were receiving treatment in the emergency department.