At least five members of a family died after a fire spread from a stove in the kitchen of their house at Rangunia Upazila in Chattogram.

The incident occurred at around 2:15 am Friday in Uttar Paruya village in Rangunia, according to the Fire Service and Civil Defence.

The dead were identified as Khokon Bashak’s father Kangal Bashak, 70, mother Lokpriya Bashak, 60, wife Lucky Bashak, 32, and children Sourav Bashak, 12, and Sanoiti Bashak, 4.

Khokon Bashak, 42, an autorickshaw driver, survived with burn injuries. He has been admitted to the Chattogram Medical College Hospital.

Two units of the fire service tamed the blaze around 4 am, said Abdul Hamid Mia, deputy assistant director of the Agrabad Fire Service.
Five of a family die in kitchen fire in Rangunia

A lot of firewood was kept in the kitchen adjacent to the rooms. The fire started in the kitchen and spread to all other rooms, according to locals. Five family members died inside a room.

Mahbub Milky, chief of the Rangunia Police Station, also said the kitchen stove caused the fire which spread across the house.

“There was a room between the kitchen and bedrooms in the house which stored a lot of firewood and dry leaves. That’s why the flames spread so quickly.”

The family members gathered in a room near the kitchen in a bid to save themselves from the flames, but they were stuck there and burnt alive, the police officer said.