Nestled in the tranquil Patuartek area of Inani, Ukhiya, Tuptup Resto & Resort offered tourists a peaceful retreat about 28 kilometres from Cox’s Bazar town. The small seaside resort overlooked the Bay of Bengal, with a coastal road separating it from the sandy beach and lush green hills rising behind it. Visitors were drawn to its secluded beaches, natural beauty and serene atmosphere.
But that tranquillity turned to tragedy on Saturday morning when a devastating fire swept through the resort, killing 10 of the 16 tourists staying there. Six escaped, while the others were trapped as flames rapidly engulfed the property, turning a seaside holiday into a deadly disaster.
Among the dead were six members of the family of Ashikul Islam, who survived by smashing a window and jumping out, but lost his wife, Israt Jahan Maliha, 30, brother-in-law and three sisters-in-law, in the blaze.
Ashikul had come to the seaside with his family during the Puja holidays, hoping to enjoy a break. Instead, their holiday turned into a nightmare.
He checked into the risky resort on the morning of 15 October with 10 family members. They were scheduled to return to Dhaka on 17 October. But the morning they were supposed to leave became the most horrific day of their lives.
Ashikul was asleep when the fire broke out. His wife woke him after noticing the flames before rushing to alert others staying in the adjoining rooms.
By then, the fire was spreading rapidly, and the raging flames claimed the lives of six family members.
Overwhelmed with grief, he said, “If we had had another 10 minutes, my wife could have made it out too.”
Ashikul sat weeping in a corner of Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital, while the bodies of his deceased relatives lay in the hospital morgue a short distance away. Memories of a family reunion had turned into anguish and regret.
Among the other victims were Fariha Kabir, 33; her five-year-old only son Faizan Nur; Md Nafis Tehami, 25, a student of the Department of Chinese Language and Culture at the University of Dhaka; Laila Jahan Nabila, 27, a student of the Department of Chemistry at Jagannath University; Melita Mehezabin Alvi, 23, a student of East West University; and Nasrin Akhtar Mukta, 29, a teacher at Niribili Shopnobilash United School in Ashulia, Savar.
The identities of the remaining three victims could not be confirmed until filing of this report.
Maliha, Nafis, Nabila and Alvi were cousins, while Fariha was Nafis’s elder sister. Faizan was the only child of Fariha and her husband, Nur Alam.
Fariha had been living in Chuadanga with her husband for the past eight years because of his job. The couple travelled to Cox’s Bazar to spend time with other family members after a long separation.
Nur Alam survived because work commitments forced him to return to Chuadanga the night before the fire. Having lost both his wife and only child, he is now struggling to find words to express his grief.
Mukta also checked into the resort. She was travelling with her childhood friends. Although her friends Airin and Ima survived, Nasrin could not escape the inferno.
Her husband, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leader Dewan Faisal, said they had been scheduled to return on Saturday morning. They will never reunite again.
Fire engulfs resort within moments
The resort was a three-storey wooden structure beside Marine Drive and the beach. Although parts of its exterior were made of concrete, much of the interior walls and flooring consisted of wood.
According to local residents, the fire spread throughout the building within moments of breaking out. Tourists ran frantically in different directions in a desperate attempt to save their lives.
Local residents rushed to help with the rescue efforts, but the intensity of the flames initially prevented them from entering the building.
The fire fighters, who were informed about an hour later, said strong winds from the sea caused the fire to spread rapidly. The building lacked essential fire safety provisions, including portable fire extinguishers, fire alarms, water hoses and a fire safety plan.
The structure had been built only seven to eight months earlier without a fire safety licence, they informed.
Following an inspection in June, the Fire Service had classified the resort as hazardous and issued a warning notice. Despite this, the resort continued operating at full capacity.
Mohammad Sumon, the resort’s manager, told TIMES that attempts had been made to extinguish the fire immediately after it broke out. However, the flames spread rapidly after air-conditioning units and gas cylinders exploded.
A short circuit or an explosion involving a gas cylinder in the ground-floor kitchen was initially suspected to have caused the fire.
The Fire Service, however, has yet to confirm the actual cause.
After the fire was brought under control, rescuers searched the resort’s rooms and recovered the bodies. The body of the four cousins were found inside a toilet. They took shelter to protect themselves from the flames.
Locals alleged that people associated with the resort left the scene after news of the tourists’ deaths spread.
Police later arrested Mohammad Sumon, the resort’s restaurant manager, but the resort owners – Niaz Morshed and Tanvir – were absconding.
The preliminary list of injured people included Sayanul Mannan, 35, and his wife, Fahmida, 31; Masud and his wife, Meherunnesa; Dr Shihab Uddin Sadi, 31, a physician at Mugda Medical College Hospital, and his wife, Dr Nafiza Newaz Khan, 29; Ashik, 28 and Airin and Ima.
Mahmud Sohel, a resident physician at Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital, told TIMES that five of the injured had burns covering about 5 percent of their bodies. They five were admitted to the hospital.
Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner A Mannan said the process of identifying the recovered bodies and handing them over to their families was under way.
DNA samples would be collected before the bodies were handed over to their relatives, he added.
