5 children electrocuted, left with critical burns on madrasah rooftop in Fatullah

Five children suffered critical burns after coming into contact with an electrical wire on the rooftop of a residential madrasah in Fatullah, Narayanganj, on Saturday afternoon (26 September).

They were admitted to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in critical condition.

The incident occurred around 4:30pm at Mahela Khatun Girls’ Madrasah in the Hajipara area under Fatullah’s Kashipur.

The injured students were identified as Jidni, 14, a Class VI student; Atia, 11, and Lamia Akter Shapla, 13, both Class IV students; Sumaiya Akter, 13, a Class VII student; and Asiya Akter Afroza, 12, a Class III student.

The institute’s cashier Md Yusuf Ali said all five were residential students. They went to the rooftop of the three-storey building to play in the afternoon. After some time, a loud sound was heard from the rooftop.

“After going to the roof, I saw all five of them had been burned. We quickly took them to a local hospital. They were later referred to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery,” he said.

The injured students said they had gone to the rooftop to play. At one point, their bodies suddenly caught fire, but they could not clearly explain how the fire started.

Dr Sultan Mahmud, resident surgeon at the burn institute’s emergency department and plastic surgery, said all five children suffered serious burn injuries.
“They are receiving treatment at the emergency department,” he said.