Rajib Pirich, one of the victims of Dhaka's Gulshan fire, attempted his best to escape from the blaze while asking for help over phone.
However, as the fire continued to spread across the building, he had to make a tough decision.Either die in that fire or jump from the 11th floor of the building.
So in a moment of panic, he jumped off from the balcony in front of his brother's eyes.
“I tried to enter the building. I could not enter as the gate was locked. When he was taken out in the ambulance, he was unconscious. He died after being taken to hospital. He was alive for a maximum of one hour,” described his brother Sajib Pirich.
“Before he jumped from the building, he said to me over the phone….Look after my family. I have no one but you,” said Sajib.
Rajib, elder son of Banath Pirich, was a resident of Pawran village of Kaliganj Upazila, Nagari Union, Gazipur. Both Rajib and another victim Anwar worked as cooks for the family of Bangladesh Cricket Board Director Fahim Sinha.
The fire broke out on the seventh floor of a 12-storey building on Road No 104, Gulshan-2, around 7pm on Sunday.
At this time, four people including 38-year-old Rajib jumped from the balcony of the floor. One of them named Anwar Hossain, 30, died on Sunday night at Dhaka Medical College (DMCH) Hospital. The fire was brought under control around 11 pm.
Sajib narrated: “My brother was standing on the 11th floor balcony and talking to me. We were talking on the phone seeing each other. He said: 'Look after family…Then there was more talk. I was telling how to escape from the fire, in which direction the fire was spreading. But he did not tell me that he would jump from the 11th floor and try to escape.”
Recalling that day, Sajib said: “My brother wanted to save himself from fire by jumping from the 11th floor balcony right in front of my eyes. I was watching him while falling down. But there was nothing to do. Soon after the fire broke out, my brother called me and told me about the fire. It was around 7pm in the evening. It takes 30 minutes to reach the building by vehicle from my village home. I went there as soon as I heard the news.”
His brother was taken to ZH Sikdar Women's Medical College Hospital in Gulshan by ambulance. He died there around 2:30am. The body was handed over to his family around 4am, he said.
Rajb has a wife, a son and a daughter. His daughter Rinj Kirich is a class VII student of the local Panjura Girls School. Son Prince Kirich is a student of class II at Senta Banath Brother School.
His brother Sajib is an easy-bike driver and father Banath Kirich is a farmer.
Masud Parvez, a UP member from the same area, said: “Rajib had a reputation for cooking. He studied till class IX. He had the mindset to do something. His desire was to cook for people and feed people. He did that until his death.”