Burnt rescuer dies in S’pore

This April 28 photo shows Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visiting Mohammad Ezazuddin Kaikobad at Dhaka Combined Military Hospital. Photo: PID

This April 28 photo shows Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visiting Mohammad Ezazuddin Kaikobad at Dhaka Combined Military Hospital.

A rescuer, who sustained burn injuries while trying to rescue trapped garment worker Shaheena from Rana Plaza rubble on April 28, died at a Singapore hospital Saturday night.

Mohammad Ezazuddin Kaikobad, a volunteer aged around 35, breathed his last at 10:55pm (Bangladesh time), said Col Shayekh of ninth infantry division of Bangladesh Army told The Daily Star on Sunday.

Kaikobad was flown to Singapore for better treatment on the instructions of the prime minister on April 30.

Ezaz along with five other rescuers, including two army personnel, entered a tunnel inside the rubble of Rana Plaza on April 28 to pull out Shaheena, who got trapped behind a beam on the third floor.

The rescuers earlier sliced some rods of the beam, but could not pull Shaheena out, as her body could not slip through the tiny space.

Around 10:00pm on Sunday, when Ezaz was cutting a rod with power saw, a fire broke out from the sparks that originated from the rod-cutting, prompting the rescue team to retreat immediately.

Ezaz was admitted to the burn unit of Combined Medical Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka with around 55 percent burn injuries.

Later, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited Ezaz at Dhaka CMH and instructed the authorities concerned to send him to Singapore for better treatment by an air ambulance.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had been bearing his treatment costs.

Ezaz, who was involved in building construction jobs, used to reside in Khachukhet in the capital.

Source: The Daily Star