Explosion in Bangladesh leaves at least 19 dead and dozens injured in the capital, Dhaka

() — An explosion at a building in a crowded area in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Tuesday killed at least 19 people and injured more than 50, according to the country’s authorities. All the injured people are hospitalized.

Mahid Uddin Khondekar, commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said the cause of the explosion was unknown. However he indicated that it could have been a gas explosion.

“We’re not sure, but it seems accidental,” he said. And he added that the number of casualties and the extent of the damage would be known once firefighters and rescuers have completed their operations.

There were not many people inside the building at the time of the blast, but its location on a busy road meant pedestrians were affected, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police said.

Firefighters and rescuers at the site of an explosion in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on March 7. (Credit: KM Asad/LightRocket/Getty Images)

The images show firefighters and emergency personnel conducting search and rescue operations after dark. The walls of the affected building suffered heavy damage and collapsed. Also some units appear to have completely collapsed and rubble covers the ground outside. Relatives of the victims are seen in mourning outside.

Firefighters work on the scene in Dhaka on March 7, 2023. (Credit: Syed Mahamudur Rahman/NurPhoto/Getty Images)

The explosion follows two other incidents of the same type last weekend in the country. On Sunday, three people were killed in a suspected gas explosion in Dhaka, a densely populated megacity that is home to more than 23 million people.

On Saturday, seven people were killed and several more injured when a fire broke out following an explosion at an oxygen plant in southeastern Bangladesh.

With additional information from Reuters