The whereabouts of those missing in the fire at Gazi Tyre factory in Rupganj, Narayanganj, have not been known even after a month and a half.
The fire service, administration, and a team from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) halted the rescue operation, deeming the burnt building too risky.
Meanwhile, relatives of the missing persons entered the unsafe building and recovered several bones, but no further rescue efforts have been seen since.
Even the families of the missing persons are no longer gathering at the factory gate to seek their loved ones.
Moreover, the missing individuals were not workers at the factory, leaving their families unable to make formal claims. In this difficult situation, relatives continue to silently shed tears.
Ruined state
A visit to the Gazi Tyre factory in Ruposhi recently revealed that everything inside had been reduced to ashes.
The entire area is covered in debris and ash. Rubber and raw materials from the tires have melted and solidified in lumps. Various parts of the machinery lie abandoned.
The entrance and other parts of the building have been vandalized, and much of the plaster has fallen off, turning the structure into a heap of rubble.
Despite all this, even after one and a half months, authorities have not been able to confirm how many people went missing in the fire.
Several security officers are in charge of overseeing the Gazi Tyre factory.
One of them, on condition of anonymity, said that for security reasons, no one is allowed inside the factory premises.
To enter, permission must be obtained from the district administration or the factory's security in-charge, especially since there have been several instances of looting.
As a result, no one is allowed in anymore.
According to the district administration, fire service, and local sources, the fire broke out at the Gazi Tyre factory in Ruposhi, Rupganj, at around 10:30pm on August 25.
Although the fire was reportedly extinguished after 32 hours by 12 units of the fire service, the fire kept reigniting intermittently. In this chaos, looting took place at the factory.
Locals claim that the fire was intentionally set during clashes between two groups over the looting of factory goods.
Mystery over death toll
The fire service said that it had found no evidence of bodies after using drone cameras and ladders in the damaged building.
Later, a search on the ground floor also yielded no results.
Due to the collapse of the floors on the fourth, fifth, and sixth levels, the Buet team deemed the building too dangerous and halted the rescue operation.
On September 1, during a public hearing, the district administration's investigation team collected a list of 78 missing persons.
That afternoon, relatives of the missing individuals entered the burnt building and claimed to have found human skulls and bones, which were handed over to the police.
However, nothing further has been revealed about the 78 missing individuals by the district administration.
Initially, the fire service compiled a list of 174 missing people, according to relatives.
Later, when confusion arose over the list, local students prepared a new list with 131 names.
Subsequently, the Upazila administration set up a control room, announcing that a final list would be prepared after verifying the names.
An eight-member investigation committee was formed by the district administration, but as of Thursday, no report has been submitted, and the exact number of missing persons has not been disclosed.
Families wait in agony
Nazma Begum, the mother of missing person Abu Bakar Naeem, who lived in Borpa, said: “My son was in the eighth grade at a local madrasa. He lived in the school dormitory. The madrasa is only 10 minutes away from the Gazi Tyre factory. I learned of his disappearance a day after the fire when madrasa teachers called to inform me. On the night of the fire, my son, along with another student, went towards the factory after Esha prayer around 9pm. Since then, I haven’t been able to find him. I have posted missing person notices in newspapers and on Facebook, but nothing has worked. My son is probably among those who burned to death in the fire.”
Asked if she had received any financial assistance, she replied: “We haven’t received any financial aid. I haven’t even found my son’s body or any trace of him. The administration made a list of the missing, but there’s been no further news. In the early days, families of the missing used to gather in front of the Gazi Tyre factory. But now, no one goes there anymore. What’s the point of going there? How long can we keep going? I sometimes go there, stand for a while, cry, and then leave.”
Hasibur Rahman, the cousin of another missing person, Md Masud from Murapara, Rupganj, said: “Masud’s father is no longer alive. His mother is. Masud used to support the family by driving an autorickshaw. On the day of the fire, he went to the Gazi Tyre factory to watch the looting with some locals. We don’t know how he ended up inside the factory, but a fire broke out later. At that time, there were no goods inside the factory, as most of them had already been looted.”
Anwar Hossain, the brother of another missing person, Abdur Rahman from Ruposhi, said: “My younger brother was a weaver. He went to the factory with his friends on the night of the incident, but he wasn’t involved in the looting. Since then, we haven’t heard anything from him. The factory is completely destroyed; everything is reduced to ashes. Now, all we can do is cry in silence.”
He added: "There's no point in going to the factory anymore. My brother didn’t work there, so there’s no claim I can make. If we at least had his body, it would be something, but we have nothing."
What Gazi Tyres says
When asked about the missing individuals, Gazi Tyre’s Executive Director (Administration) Brigadier General (Retired) Mohammad Kamruzzaman said: "The fire service, administration, and Buet team found nothing inside the damaged building. But then some people came out of nowhere, claiming they found bones. There’s even doubt about whether these bones are from humans or if they belong to the factory at all. If so many people were burned, you would expect a strong burnt smell, but that hasn’t been the case. We haven’t received any investigation reports yet. And since the building is insured, it can’t just be demolished without permission from the authorities."
He added that the looting inside the factory has now stopped. “From the beginning, there was significant looting at the factory. Several groups were waiting outside with vehicles, while others helped loot from inside. Afterwards, yet another group bought the looted goods cheaply. Now, security has been tightened, and looting has stopped. But the building is empty now.”
What do authorities say?
When asked about the investigation report, Narayanganj Additional District Magistrate Alamgir Hossain said: "The head of the investigation committee, Hamidur Rahman, has been transferred. Since I didn’t oversee this case, I don’t have detailed information about it. I am new here."
In this connection, Narayanganj Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Mahmudul Haque said: “We haven’t received the investigation report yet. Once we have it, we can confirm how many people are missing.”
