A small room near the morgue of Dhaka Medical College Hospital was packed with around 15 people — some sitting, others lying on the floor — waiting endlessly for the bodies of their loved ones.
Outside, law enforcers were recording the identities of the garment workers who perished in Tuesday’s devastating fire in Mirpur.
Among the waiting relatives was Mohammad Zaman Mia, desperate to know when his niece’s body would be handed over.
“My niece Farzana was only 15,” he said, his voice trembling. She was working at the garment factory where 16 people died after the blaze and from inhaling poisonous gas.
“She supported her family with her Tk7,000 salary,” he added. Farzana’s parents, both unwell, could not come to the hospital.
When the fire broke out, one of her friends ran to their home, gasping for breath, to say she had escaped — but Farzana had not. Zaman Mia had been waiting at the morgue since morning, like so many others, with no update.
Mamunur Rahman, 38, the sole breadwinner of his family, was also among the dead. His wife, Ishrat Jahan Emi, broke down outside the morgue. “How will I live now?” she cried, tears streaming down her face.
Mamunur left behind two sons — seven-year-old Ishtiaque and 18-month-old Imtiaz. His friends stood nearby, trying to comfort the grieving family and help with the formalities.
Another victim, Noor Alam, had joined the factory just a day before the tragedy. His body now lies in the morgue as his relative Anwar Hossain waits outside. “He was the only earner,” said Anwar. “He had a wife, a sick father and two younger siblings. We don’t know how they will survive now.”
CID official Shuvajoy Baidya told TIMES of Bangladesh that DNA samples would be tested for every victim, a process likely to take several days.
Of the 16 bodies — nine men and seven women — are at the morgue.
“DNA samples are being collected, and police will verify the identities before releasing any body,” Dhaka Medical College Hospital Director Brigadier General Md Asaduzzaman said, adding that the bodies might be handed over without autopsies if families requested.
Witnesses said the fire engulfed both the garment factory and an adjacent chemical warehouse before firefighters arrived. Some claimed it started in the garment section, while others said chemicals intensified the blaze into a deadly inferno.
As night fell, the smell of smoke still lingered over Mirpur, and the wails of the bereaved echoed through the hospital morgue — families waiting, helpless, for the final return of those they had lost.
