A young man and his wife sustained severe burn injuries after a fire, apparently caused by a gas leak, broke out in their rented house in Savar early Friday when they tried to light a mosquito coil.
The victims were identified as Kaisar, 28, and his wife Ruby Begum, 24. Hailing from Matopara village in Goalanda upazila of Rajbari district, they had been residing in the Majidpur Dighirpar area of Savar.
According to Kaisar's father Md Siman Sheikh, the couple lives on the ground floor of a two-storey building owned by Nur Mohammad in the area. Both work at garment factories.
He said the fire broke out shortly after 12:00am when they struck a match to light a mosquito coil, apparently due to accumulated gas.
The flames quickly spread throughout the room, leaving both of them critically burned.
Neighbours broke open the door and rescued the couple and took them to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in the capital around 2:50am.
Dr Shawon Bin Rahman, a resident surgeon at the institute, said Kaisar suffered burns on 100 percent of his body, while Ruby sustained burns 80 percent burns.
Both are in critical condition and are undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), he added.