Fire Service has officially announced the conclusion of fire extinguishing works and rescue operations after six days at the six-storey Gazi Tyres factory in Rupganj upazila of Narayanganj.
The families of the missing 126 individuals have yet to receive any confirmation of the recovery of bodies or remains.
All activities related to the factory were officially declared complete at 7:05pm on Friday.
Fire Service Media Cell Officer Talha Bin Jasim confirmed this information.
He stated that the firefighting and rescue operations have been officially concluded.
Earlier, on Thursday, a team of experts from Buet, led by Professor Rakib Hasan of the Department of Civil Engineering, described the building as highly risky and dangerous.
He mentioned that conducting recovery operations inside the building was extremely perilous.
He explained that they had used ladders to view as much of the building's interior as possible from the outside, and drones to capture video and images for assessment.
Due to the presence of various chemicals and high temperatures, the building was severely damaged.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth floors had collapsed onto the third floor, which had also been compromised due to the weight of the debris. Most of the columns were fractured, and the extent of the cracks inside the building matched the visible cracks outside. Significant damage was observed on the floors where the fire was most intense. There was a risk of further collapse if recovery attempts were made from below.
Abdul Mannan, assistant director of the Fire Service and Civil Defense in Narayanganj, stated: "We conducted operations in the building’s ground floors and basement. The fire did not reach the basement, so the machinery there is intact. However, we did not find any bodies or evidence of them in the basement."
The fire broke out at the Gazi Tyres factory on Sunday night.
After a 21-hour struggle, the fire service brought the blaze under control at 7:05pm on Monday.
The fire broke out in the six-story building owned by former lawmaker Gazi Golam Dastagir.
According to Lt Col Md Rezaul Karim, Director of Training, Planning, and Improvement at the Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) headquarters, the fire service received information about the fire within five minutes of it starting. However, the intensity of the blaze, fueled by flammable materials such as rubber and tyres, made it extremely difficult to contain.
In response to the severity of the fire, five additional firefighting units were deployed, bringing the total to 12 units with 120 firefighters working tirelessly to douse the flames, said Lt Col Karim during a media briefing on Monday morning.
When asked about the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage, he said that these details will only be confirmed after a thorough investigation.
Meanwhile, the local administration formed an eight-member committee, led by Additional Deputy Manager Hamidur Rahman, to investigate the cause of the fire, on August 29.
The committee was given ten days to submit its findings, according to Deputy Commissioner Mahmudul Haque.
It is primarily thought to be a case of arson since the factory owned by ex-minister in the Awami League regime Golam Dastagir Gazi came under attack by miscreants that evening, who looted and vandalized the premises before setting it on fire.