Rescue hero who saved dozens in Rana Plaza factory collapse commits suicide
Dhaka: A Bangladeshi activist, who rescued dozens of people during the infamous 2013 Rana Plaza disaster that killed over 1,100 people, has committed suicide by setting himself ablaze after pouring kerosene, police said Friday.
Nowshad Hasan Himu, 27, set himself ablaze on Wednesday night, apparently after suffering years of trauma-related depression, and was found on fire by neighbours outside his rented house at Birulia in Ashulia area near Dhaka.
"We have sent his body to Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital morgue," Dhaka Tribune quoted Savar police station Sub-Inspector Asgar Ali as saying.
Ali said Himu set himself on fire after pouring kerosene on himself on the sixth anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy.
Himu, a familiar face to those who worked during the Rana Plaza disaster on April 24 which killed 1,134 people in one of the world's worst industrial tragedies, had rescued scores of people and recovered a number of bodies throughout the 17-day rescue operation.
From 2016, he began showing signs of detachment from his family. He started living on his own, befriending animals instead, said a condolence message released yesterday by Bangladesh Garments Sramik Samhati, with which Himu worked closely during the disaster.
"He called me several times on Wednesday, which was not normal; he also sounded different. Even a few minutes before setting himself on fire, we spoke on the phone. Later, I received the news and rushed to the hospital," said Himu's mother Afroza Begum.
"Nashwad used to speak more often about how people were stuck inside the debris of the building and how many of them died there. He used to worry a lot about certain things," she said.
"Maybe he was worried about something which affected his mental condition, leading him to commit suicide," she added. According to neighbours, Himu had pet dogs, took care of street dogs, but seemed mentally unstable most of the time. He did not really socialise, and spent most of his time with his dog, they said.
Police suspect Himu was suffering from depression. Rajib Ashraf, Himu's roommate, said he was alone and used to talk about his trauma from Rana Plaza tragedy.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
