The bodies of the 10 people killed in the fire at TupTup Resto and Resort in Inani, Cox’s Bazar, have been kept at the morgue of Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital, where relatives of the victims have gathered to receive them.
However, the bodies have not yet been handed over. The administration said DNA tests would be conducted to identify the victims, as the fire severely disfigured their bodies.
Subaktagin Mahmud Sohel, resident medical officer (RMO) at Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital, said the identities of six of the 10 victims were known, but it has yet to be confirmed which body belongs to which victim.
Md Abul Mannan, deputy commissioner of Cox’s Bazar, said the victims’ bodies had been charred in the fire. DNA tests will therefore be conducted to determine which body belongs to which victim, he said. The bodies could be handed over to relatives after the tests, he added.
The six victims were Ishrat Jahan, 30, and Milita Mehezabin, 23, of Banasree area in Dhaka; Laila Jahan, 27, and Nafista Mim, 27, of the capital’s Khilgaon; Fariha Kabir, 33, of Chuadanga; and five-year-old Faizan Ahmed.
Meanwhile, Nasrin Akter, a resident of Dhaka, has been missing since the fire. She had checked into the resort with two female friends. Her husband, Dewan Faisal, travelled to Cox’s Bazar and searched for her at the resort and the hospital but could not find her.
The whereabouts of resort owner Md Tanvir remain unknown. Police have arrested the resort’s manager, Mohammad Sumon. A case has been filed with Ukhiya Police Station over the incident.
DC Mannan said a five-member committee, led by an additional district magistrate, had been formed to investigate the incident and determine the cause of the fire. The resort had been built illegally, and the relevant authorities had issued a notice for its removal, he added.
Syed Morshed Hossain, deputy assistant director of the Fire Service in Cox’s Bazar, said the resort had not obtained Fire Service approval for its construction and lacked firefighting arrangements. “Strong sea winds caused the fire to spread rapidly through the wooden structure.”
The fire broke out at the three-storey wooden resort on Saturday morning. Besides the 10 tourists who died, six others sustained burn injuries and were taken to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital. Of them, four were taken to Dhaka for advanced treatment, while the other two received treatment at the district hospital.
