At least 12 was killed and 45 have been severely wounded in a suspected gas explosion that occurred in a Bangladesh mosque on Friday evening, an Agence France-Presse report stated.
The Baitus Salat Jame Masjid located in the district of Narayanganj was in a blaze after a spark from an air-conditioner set off the gas in the mosque, it said.
"Leaked gas entered the mosque," Narayanganj fire chief Abdullah Al Arefin was quoted saying to AFP.
"When they shut the windows and doors and switched on the air conditioners there was an electric spark that led to the explosion inside the mosque," he added
The victims admitted to a specialist burns hospital in Dhaka in critical condition, said hospital spokesman Samanta Lal Sen, adding, all had suffered 70 to 80 percent burns.
In Bangladesh, safety regulations are often defied in construction. Hundreds are killed each year in fires in the nation of 168 million people, the AFP report added.
