MOULVIBAZAR, Dec 8: Two elderly women died reportedly due to suffocation from smoke in a fire that broke out in Sadar Upazila of Moulvibazar on Saturday night.
The deceased were identified as Sheikh Meherunnesa, 65, mother of former union parishad chairman Sheikh Rumel Ahmed, also a vice-president of the district unit Juba League, and his paternal aunt Phulesa Begum, 60. Both of them were residents of Mostafapur Village in the upazila.
Jishu Talukdar, an officer of Moulvibazar Fire Service and Civil Defence, said that on information, at around 3:30 am, they reached the scene and found the two elderly women unconscious in a room due to the suffocation by smoke in the fire.
They then rescued the duo and took to Moulvibazar Sadar Hospital, where the on-duty doctor declared the two dead upon arrival.
It was known that the deceased lived in the house and a security guard lived another room of the house.
The guard saw flame at around 3 am and called the neighbours. Being informed, the firefighters reached there and doused the blaze.
The fire is suspected to have originated from an electric short-circuit in one of the rooms of the duplex house, Jishu Talukdar added.
Officer-in-Charge of Moulvibazar Sadar Police Station Gazi Mahbubur Rahman confirmed the incident, adding that no complaint has been filed yet in this regard.
