A 23-year-old man, who was among the first to have been rescued alive from the remains of the collapsed building in Garden Reach on March 17, succumbed to his injuries in hospital on Tuesday, taking the death toll in the tragedy to 13.
Police said Moinul Haque, 23, a resident of J-426 Azhar Molla Bagan, had been at SSKM Hospital since the collapse of the under-construction building.
Haque — “Prince” to his friends and family — and his friend Sahiluddin Gazi were the first to be found alive under the rubble, a friend recalled.
“He (Haque) had suffered serious injuries in his legs. One of his legs was almost
defunct. Today he breathed his last,” a relative said on Tuesday.
Haque had recently joined a private firm and gone to the five-storey under-construction building on the night of the tragedy to chat with friends.
“He does not live anywhere close to the site. It was sheer bad luck that he and his friend went there that night,” said the relative.
Close to midnight, the unauthorised structure had collapsed, trapping several people underneath.
Till now, 13 persons have been reported dead.
Haque’s friend Sahiluddin, who had fractured his waist, was recently discharged from hospital after surgery.
Residents of the neighbourhood where Haque lived said he is survived by his father, a tea seller by profession, mother, a brother and a sister.
“He was the main earning member of the family. They (the family) are devastated,” said a friend.