A shop owner died of a heart attack when a cooking gas cylinder exploded in the storehouse of his grocery shop at Bakshir Hat under Kotwali Police Station in the port city early yesterday.
The deceased was identified as Md Nur Hossain, 50, of Hulaine village in Patiya upazila.
Hearing the sound of the blast that took place around 3:50 am, locals rushed to the spot and found Hossain lying on the floor injured. They rushed him to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) where doctors declared him dead.
Locals alleged that Hossain might have become victim of the blast while he was preparing food in the cooking gas cylinder for sehri.
Md Harun, another shop owner in the area, told The Daily Star that Hossain used to reside alone in the storehouse, which is on the first floor of a two-storey building.
"The ground floor of the building was being used as his grocery," he added.
Quoting the death certificate issued by the hospital, Jahirul Islam, sub-inspector of CMCH Police Camp, said "Hossain died of a heart attack."
The body was sent to his village home after an autopsy, locals said.
At least one person was killed and seven others were injured in separate incidents of gas cylinder explosions in the port city during the May-July period this year.
Source : The Daily Star
