Tongi air heavy with grief

As of 6pm yesterday, 24 people were killed in a fire triggered by an explosion at Tampaco Foils Ltd, a packaging factory in Tongi around 6am yesterday. Of the dead, 19 were killed on the spot and the rest succumbed to their injuries later, the Dhaka Tribune learnt. At least 60 more workers were injured in the accident, said sources on the ground. Officials have yet to determine the nature of the explosion and what caused it. Waiting to hear from the authorities both in front of the factory and the hospitals, many families were seen sobbing for their loss, while some were still in shock. “My brother Rafiq worked at the maintenance department of the factory. He was supposed to come home tomorrow [today] with his wife and five-month-old child to celebrate Eid with the rest of the family. Now I am taking his dead body home,” said Atiqul Islam, one of the bereaved family members. He said his family was from Kakchar village in Trishal upazila, Mymensingh. “When I heard about the accident, I called my brother but could not reach him. I came here [Tongi] and kept looking for him, until I found his body at Tongi Government Hospital,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. Twenty-year-old Rashed was a rickshaw puller who had the misfortune of passing by the factory with two passengers when the accident occurred, said his sister Bedana Begum. Rashed was crushed under a brick wall, as were his two passengers. “Rashed was the sole breadwinner in our family,” said Bedana, who is from Dolakanda village in Mymensingh. “He had been pulling rickshaws for five years in Tongi. With his meagre income, he was looking after his wife and three-year-old son and our family, and paying for the education of our two brothers.” Rashed himself was a student at Open University of Bangladesh and worked hard for his studies, she added. “We were supposed to go home for Eid tomorrow night. But he left us to never return,” said his cousin Sujon, breaking down in tears. Shankar Sarker, 25, was a cleaner in the factory, said his uncle Pabitra Majumdar. “He had dropped out of school to support his family. Now he is gone, leaving his family behind,” Pabitra said. Gopal Das, 26, another cleaner, was also the only wage earner in his seven-member family. “His parents were trying to send him abroad with the help from relatives,” said his uncle Brojen Das, who identified his body. Idris Ali, 38, was a machine operator in the factory who lived by himself, said his sister Sabina Akhter. His wife lives in Jordan, and their child lives with his parents in their village home at Manikgaji village in Bhurungamari upazila, Kurigram. “My brother left my house this morning after breakfast, saying he had to work on the 'A' shift. He went to do his shift, and returned as a dead body,” said a crying Sabina. Al Mamun, 40, from Pashchim Fuljhuri village in Mothbaria upazila, Pirojpur, was an operator in the factory for 10 years, said his brother-in-law Sagir Hossain. The sole earning member in his family, he left behind his wife and three children. “He was going to build a house in Tongi. His death has shattered the entire family,” said Sagir.