by Staff Correspondent,

Dhaka – The death toll from the explosion that ripped through a commercial building in central Dhaka rose to 21 as the rescuers found the body of another person inside the debris on Thursday, officials said.

The body was found on the third days of search and was transported to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), said firefighting instructor Anwarul Haq.

The explosion at the five-storey building, known as Café Queen, on the North-South road in Dhaka’s Siddique Bazar, near busy Gulistan, on Tuesday shattered the underground, the ground and the first floors of the building.

Rescuers from the Fire Service and Civil Defence emergency department pulled the bodies of two people on Wednesday. One person died on the same day at the Sheikh Hasina Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. The firefighters pulled the bodies of 17 people immediately after the blast on Tuesday.

More than 100 people were treated at DMCH. Condition of at least eight of the survivors is still reported to be critical at state-run health facility.

The authorities have handed the bodies of 20 people.

The government launched an investigation into the accident to find the reason behind it. A four-member panel of investigators has started the probe. It was asked to report back in five working days. Spy agencies and police are also looking into whether it was an accident or an act of sabotage.