Bangladesh mosque gas explosion death toll rises to 24

The death toll from a gas explosion that tore through a Bangladesh mosque has risen to 24, officials said Sunday, as rescuers described how survivors jumped into a nearby open sewer to escape the flames.

According to reports, worshippers were at Friday evening prayers when the blast sent a ball of fire through the mosque in the central district of Narayanganj near the capital Dhaka, emergency services said.

Eight more people -- including the mosque's imam and muezzin, who led prayers -- died overnight taking the toll to 24, said Samanta Lal Sen, a spokesman for a specialist burns hospital in Dhaka.

"The conditions of 13 injured people were critical. Bodies of some of the injured were 70-80 percent burnt," he told said, adding there were fears the toll could climb higher.

Forty-five people in total were injured, police said.

Mohammad Salim said he rushed to the mosque after the explosion, adding the blast's shock waves shook the neighborhood.

He said burnt worshippers threw themselves into an open sewer next to the mosque.

In Bangladesh, safety regulations are often flouted. Hundreds are killed each year in fires in the nation of 168 million people.

SS