37 bodies handed over to families

A total of 37 bodies of the victims of Chawkbazar fire incident have been handed over to their families and relatives since this noon, an official said.

“Bodies of 37 victims have been handed over to relatives so far after their identities were confirmed,” Md Selim Reza, additional divisional commissioner of Dhaka, told The Daily Star.

Each of the victim’s family is provided with Tk 20,000 for the burial while the rest of the compensation will be provided later, the additional divisional commissioner also said, adding that DNA tests would be conducted for bodies whose conditions are beyond recognition.

The Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) authorities started handing over the identified bodies to their families from 2:10pm.

The body of Kamal Hossain, 50, a cosmetics store owner in Chawkbazar, was identified by his brother Delwar Hossain. His body was handed over to his family members around 2:10pm under the supervision of Additional Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Shafiqul Islam.

Kamal Hossain had pulled down the shutters of the store and was heading home yesterday night when the fire broke out.

An effort to identify the rest of the bodies is going on, Senior Assistant Commissioner and Executive Magistrate of Dhaka Deputy Commissioner's Office Imrul Hasan said in the afternoon.

A total of 41 people has suffered burn injuries in the incident, he added.

Sixty-seven dead bodies of those killed in the chemical warehouse fire in Chawkbazar area of Old Dhaka were brought to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Dhaka Deputy Commissioner's Office has opened an information centre beside DMCH morgue, he added.

While talking to media around 2:00pm, Partho Sankar Paul, resident surgeon of DMCH burn unit, said nine people are admitted to the burn unit. Among them, one is in the ICU and the rest are in the post-operative room, he said.

Police are making inquest report for each dead body and the identified bodies would be handed over to the victims’ family members after autopsy, said Munshi Abdul Lokman, said a sub-inspector Chawkbazar Police Station.

Names of victims obtained so far

Names of 37 deceased who have been identified so far were obtained.

They are: Arafat, Shahadat Hossain, Helal Uddin, Enamul Huq Kazi, Mosharraf Hossain, Kamal Hossain, Siddique Ullah, Wasi Uddin, Syed Khabir, Jumman, Ali Hossain, Yamin Khan Rony, Morshed Alam, Mithu, Sajib, Hafej Md Kawsar, Abdur Rahim alias Dulal, Rashidul Islam, Maheer, Sonia, Abu Bakar Siddique, Imtiaj Imrose Rasu, Masud Rana, Mahbubur Rahman Raju, Ashraf Huq Rajan, Omar Faruk, Md Ali, Opu Raihan, Jashim Uddin, Md Raju, Md Nayan Khan, Ayesha Khatun, Anowar Hossain, Siam Arafat, Mojibur Hawladar, Alauddin Mahee, and Noor Hossain.

Victim identified by sports jersey

The body of a victim of Chawkbazar fire incident has been identified at the morgue of Dhaka Medical College Hospital by the sport jersey on his body.

Nayan Khan: Photo: Shaheen Mollah

Md Nayan Khan, 24, a salesman of a cosmetic shop in Chawkbazar, was supposed to attend a friendly cricket match at Rahmatullah Girls High School field in Lalbagh area today as his shop owner gave him a leave on the occasion of the Language Martyrs’ Day and International Mother Language Day.   

His body was identified by his elder sister Afsana Begum at the DMCH around 12:00pm by the jersey for the cricket match he wore yesterday, Mamataj Begum, grandmother of the victim, told The Daily Star. 

Nayan, who was used to live along with mother Kohinur Begum and younger sister Urmi, 15, in Lalbagh, was the sole bread-earner of his family.

Nayan liked playing cricket. Several days before, he made some jerseys for him and his team members with their names printed on the back for attending today’s friendly cricket match, Mamataj said.

Nayan did not return home till this morning and his mobile number was switched off.

The family members finally found him at the morgue of the DMCH this noon, reports our staff correspondent.