What was intended as a joyful Puja holiday by the sea ended in heartbreaking tragedy for Nahidur Rahman Tuhin, 41, his wife Afsana Motin Tanzi, 36, and their two young daughters, Ruzaina Inaya, 7, and Sunaina Ihana, 3.
The family of four had travelled from Mirpur, Dhaka, to the coastal town of Cox’s Bazar, only to lose their lives in a devastating resort fire.
On Saturday evening, rescuers recovered their charred bodies from a resort washroom, where they were found holding one another tightly.
Although grieving relatives visually identified the victims by their shapes and sizes, formal identification and the release of their remains now depend on DNA testing that could take up to 15 days.
The journey began on Sunday, 11 October, when Nahidur, a manager at Grand Power Company, a private firm in Shyamoli, booked room 202 at TupTup Restro & Resort along Marine Drive in Inani, Cox’s Bazar.
Nahidur, who had lived in Dhaka for roughly 15 years and hailed from Mohanpur village in Monirampur upazila, Jashore, set off with his family from Dhaka on Thursday.
They checked into the resort on Friday, planning to return home on Wednesday. On Friday night, during a phone call with his father and his cousin Khalid Hossain, Nahidur happily said, “We are at the sea beach, the children are playing.”
It would be the final time his family heard from him.
Disaster struck on Saturday morning when a fire broke out at the resort. Khalid, who resides in Cox’s Bazar for work, had planned to meet Nahidur that day. Upon learning of the blaze, he repeatedly attempted to contact the family, but their mobile phones were switched off.
After an anxious day-long search, rescuers made the tragic discovery on Saturday evening, recovering four charred bodies embraced together in a resort washroom.
Speaking over the phone from Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital on Sunday evening, 18 October, Nahidur’s brother Jahidur Rahman Prince recounted the agonizing moment of recognition. “They are no more,” he said.
“By looking at the size and shape of the charred bodies, I recognised my brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces. However, my DNA sample was taken for final identification.”
Police collected initial DNA samples at Cox’s Bazar morgue, and around 10pm on Sunday, Jahidur and Khalid departed for Dhaka to provide further DNA samples.
Relatives now wait in painful uncertainty, as police explained that legal formalities and DNA testing must be completed before the bodies can be handed over to the family.
