Almost a year after the Rana Plaza collapse, the National DNA Profiling Laboratory at the Dhaka Medical College has confirmed the identities of seven more victims of the disaster, following the successful cross-matching of DNA samples provided by the victims’relatives.
However, the genders of the newly identified victims could not be known immediately.
Professor Dr Sharif Akhteruzzaman, technical adviser for the DNA lab, confirmed the news yesterday and told the Dhaka Tribune that the lab had submitted a report on its third phase of DNA tests before the labour ministry on Monday.
In the first phase report last November, the lab identified 157 victims– 116 women and 41 men; while the second phase report in February this year identified 43 more victims – 33 women and 10 men.
Sources at the national DNA lab said 541 families had provided DNA samples for cross-matching with the 322 unidentified victims, whose bone and teeth were collected as DNA samples.
A high-tech combined DNA index system (codex) software, provided by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, was used to identify the victims.
The collapse of Rana Plaza on April 24 last year caused the deaths of at least 1,134 people and injured 2,515 more.