Rickshaw puller dies in Dhaka amid heatwave

Amid the ongoing heatwave, a rickshaw puller today died while transporting passengers near Dhaka Nursing College this afternoon.

The deceased is Abdul Awal, 45, of Habiganj district. He used to live in Narayanganj.

Sumon Bosak, a sub-inspector of Shahbagh Police Station, said the man came on his rickshaw near the college with two passengers and started trembling. Suddenly, he fell from the rickshaw and fell unconscious.

He was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead around 4:15pm, he said.

Sumon suspected that the rickshaw pullers might have died of heatstroke.

Kishore Kumar, a medical officer of the hospital, said the rickshaw puller was brought dead and it will be known after autopsy whether he died of heatstroke.

Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) today issued a 3-day heat alert as the ongoing heatwave is expected to continue for the next 72 hours.

Earlier, the Met office issued a 72-hour heat alert starting from April 19.