A total of 46 bodies of those who died in the Chawkbazar fire have been identified, and handed over to their respective family members, until filing of this report at 6pm on Friday.
Dhaka Divisional Commissioner Ali Azam told reporters at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on Thursday night 45 of the identified bodies have been handed over to their families last night. The process will continue till Friday morning, he said.
The deputy commissioner’s office also revealed that among the 21 unidentified bodies, 3 are currently at the DMCH morgue, while five will be sent to Mitford Hospital’s morgue, three to Kurmitola General Hospital’s morgue, five to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital, and five others to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases.
Authorities will provide logistical support to the families of victims to help visit all the morgues to look for their missing family members, Azam said.
"It is taking time for us to identify the bodies, as the bodies have been severely burned by the fire," Additinal Divisional Commissioner Shafiqul Islam said earlier.
According to Dhaka District Administrations office, the deceased who have so far been identified are Wasi Uddin, 23; Md Kamal Hossain, 45; Mosharraf Hossain Babu, 26; Hafez Md Kawsar, 26; Ali Hossain, 65; Yeasin, 33; Shahadat Hossain, 30; Abu Bakkar Siddique, 27; Jummon, 52; Mujibor Hawladar, 50; Helaluddin, 32; Ashraful Haque, 27; Imtiaz Imroze Rashu, 22; Md Siddiqullah, 45; Masud Rana, 35; Opu Raihan, 31; Arafat Ali, 3; Mohammed Ali, 22; Mahbubur Rahman, 21; Enamul Hoque Kazi, 28; Siam Arafat, 19; Omar Faruk, 30; Syed Khabir Uddin, 38; Ayesha Khatun, 40; Noyon Khan, 25; Abdur Rahim, 51; Jashimuddin, 22; Sahir, 3; Mithu, 38; Sonia Akter, 28; Billal Hossain, 47; Ishaq Bepari, 42; Ibrahim, 30; Sujon Hoque, 53; Samsul Hoque, 65; Parvez, 18; Khorsed Alam, 22; Raju, 18; Shojib, 23; Joynal Abedin, 55; Anwar Hossain, 28; Nasir Uddin, 32; Anwara, 35; Shahadat Ullah Hira, 33, Saiful Islam, 34, and Sulaiman, 22.
As of now, 67 people have officially been reported dead in the blaze that spread through several multi-storied buildings on Nanda Kumar Lane, in Chawkbazar’s Churihatta area of Old Dhaka, on Wednesday night.
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The bodies have been transferred to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) morgue.
Over 60 victims injured in the incident received treatment at the DMCH and Mitford hospitals.
Tk20,000 provided to families
The Dhaka District Administration is giving Tk20,000 to family members of the deceased.
Authorities at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue started handing over the bodies of those who died in the Chawkbazar fire, around 2:30pm on Thursday.
Confirming the matter to the Dhaka Tribune, Dhaka Division Additional Divisional Commissioner, Md Shafiqul Islam, said: "We have already handed over 39 bodies to the victims' families."
"The families of the deceased are being provided with Tk20,000 by the district administration.
"A total of 67 bodies have been kept at the DMCH morgue till now."
"We, on humanitarian grounds and as a part of our duty, are trying our best to ensure the families of the deceased to get the bodies of their loved ones' as soon as possible, without any hassle," he added.