At least 10 people were killed and six others injured after a fire broke out at Tuptup Resort and Restaurant in Inani, Cox’s Bazar on Saturday morning.
The resort was built without clearance from the Fire Service and Civil Defence and did not have an environmental clearance certificate, officials said.
Syed Mohammad Morshed Hossain, deputy assistant director of the Cox’s Bazar Fire Service, said the authorities had warned the resort in June about fire safety violations, but the management took no action.
“Wooden structures can catch fire quickly and flames can spread rapidly in strong coastal winds. Such establishments must have portable fire extinguishers, fire alarms, hose pipes and a fire safety plan. But the resort had none of these. It also had no fire licence,” he said.
The resort had been built only seven or eight months ago, Morshed said, adding that there was also a dispute over ownership of the property. Food was prepared on the ground floor of the resort, he added.
Khandaker Mahmud Pasha, deputy director of the Department of Environment’s Cox’s Bazar district office, said the resort had not received environmental clearance.
“No environmental clearance was issued to any establishment named Tuptup Resort and Restaurant in the Patuartek area of Inani. The establishment may not even have applied for clearance,” he said.
Panna Akter, Ukhia Upazila Nirbahi Officer, said 10 bodies had been recovered and six people were injured. A total of 18 tourists were staying at the resort when the fire broke out, she said.
Six members of the same family were among those killed. They were Faria Kabir, 33, wife of Nur Alam, a senior marketing officer of Drug International working in Chuadanga; their five-year-old son Faizan Noor; his wife’s brother Nasir Uddin, 25; and her three sisters, Israt Jahan Maliha, 30, Laila Jahan Nabila, 27, and Milita Mehejabin Alvi, 23.
The identities of the other victims have yet to be confirmed.
The six injured were Mugda Medical College Hospital physician Shihab Uddin, 31; his wife Nafisa Newaz Khan, 29; Mannan, 34; Meherunnesa, 30; Masud, 30; and Samida, 32.
“We initially believe that six of the deceased may be members of the same family. However, this will be confirmed through DNA testing,” said the Ukhia UNO.
Local residents said the fire broke out at around 7:30am at the resort beside the Marine Drive road. Fire Service personnel rushed to the scene after receiving the alert, while local residents joined the firefighting and rescue efforts with assistance from police.
Later in the afternoon, Fire Service official Syed Morshed Hossain said 10 bodies had been recovered and warned that more victims could still be trapped inside the resort.
The rescue operation was continuing.