At least 10 tourists, including a five-year-old child, three university students, and six members of a single family, lost their lives when a devastating fire gutted an unauthorised beachfront resort at Patuartek in Inani, Ukhiya Upazila.
At least seven others sustained severe burn injuries in the blaze that broke out in the early hours of Saturday.
Sequence of events and incident details
The tragedy occurred around 7am to 7:30am at “Tuptup Resto & Resort” (also known as Tuptup Resort), a three-storey facility constructed with brick walls, tin roofing, and wooden and bamboo platforms, located along Marine Drive Road roughly 40 km from Cox’s Bazar town.
The victims had travelled from various parts of the country, including Dhaka and Chuadanga, to enjoy the extended Durga Puja holiday.
At the time of the incident, between 17 and 18 guests were occupying six to seven rooms across the nine-room property. While a few guests had stepped out early to visit the rocky beach, most were still asleep in their rooms.
According to eyewitnesses and local reports, the fire originated in the ground-floor restaurant kitchen from a stove or electrical short circuit before triggering a powerful LP gas cylinder explosion.
As the restaurant served as the sole entry and exit route for the resort, the roaring flames rapidly engulfed the structure, trapping sleeping tourists inside.
Some guests, including Abdul Mannan of Mirpur and his wife, managed to escape by leaping into a nearby drain in the pitch darkness.
Rescue operations and recovery of bodies
Four units from the Fire Service and Civil Defence, alongside personnel from the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Special Response Battalion (SRB), and local police, launched a major rescue operation.
The main blaze was brought under control by 10:30am. Firefighters initially recovered six charred bodies from the debris.
However, during a subsequent search around 3pm, emergency workers discovered four additional burned bodies inside an upper-floor bathroom/toilet, bringing the total death toll to 10.
Identification of victims and casualties
Six of the deceased have been identified so far: Israt Jahan Maliha, 30, from Banasree, Dhaka; Milita Mehjabin Alvi, 23, a student at East West University; Laila Jahan Nabila, 27, from Khilgaon, Dhaka, a 15th-batch Chemistry student at Jagannath University; Nafista Mim, 27, from Khilgaon, Dhaka; Fariya Kabir, 33, from Chuadanga district; and Fayizan Ahmed, 5, a child from Chuadanga.
Among the deceased, six belonged to a single nine-member family from Dhaka.
They include Nafiz Tehami (Jaif), a 5th batch student of Chinese Language and Culture at Dhaka University; his cousins Laila Jahan Nabila and Milita Mehjabin Alvi; Israt Jahan Maliha; Mila; Sabrin; and five-year-old Fayizan Ahmed (Nafiz’s nephew and son of his elder sister Fariya Kabir).
Meanwhile, Nasrin Akter Mukta, a kindergarten teacher from Savar who had arrived with two friends, remains missing after being trapped in her room while her friends were at the beach.
At least seven injured individuals were rushed to Cox’s Bazar District Sadar Hospital.
Residential Medical Officer (RMO) Dr Subaktagin Mahmud Sohel confirmed that the admitted patients include Dr Shahab Uddin, a physician at Mugda Medical College Hospital, his wife Dr Nafiza Nawar Khan, Abdul Mannan, Meherunnesa, Masud, and Samida.
Two individuals received primary care and were discharged, while three critically injured patients were transferred to Dhaka for advanced medical treatment.
Unauthorised status and safety warnings
The tragedy has exposed severe fire safety violations.
Brigadier General Sultanul Afrin Junaid, Director General of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, revealed during a press conference that the resort was operating completely without a fire licence or clearance.
Moreover, Fire Service inspections in June had formally designated the wooden establishment as “hazardous” and served a warning notice, which resort management ignored.
Following the incident, resort staff fled the scene.
Investigation and official response
Cox’s Bazar District Commissioner (DC) Md Abdul Mannan visited the site and announced the formation of a five-member investigation committee headed by the additional district magistrate (ADM) to investigate the cause of the fire, safety compliance, and potential administrative negligence.
DC Mannan said DNA testing will be conducted to confirm the identities of the deceased before handing over the bodies to their families.
Cox’s Bazar Superintendent of Police ANM Sajedur Rahman, Ukhiya Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Panna Akter, and local Member of Parliament Shahajahan Chowdhury also inspected the site.
Lawmaker Shahajahan Chowdhury stressed that the incident raises serious questions regarding safety regulation enforcement and oversight across Cox’s Bazar’s tourism industry.
