Based on a primary estimate, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BRCS) said at least 46 bodies of victims killed in the Chawkbazar fire tragedy still remain missing or unaccounted for.
Shakila Akhter, field officer of BRCS, gave this information to the Dhaka Tribune around 2pm on Wednesday, nearly 15 hours after the deadly blaze broke out at Churihatta of Chawkbazar, engulfing several multi-storied buildings in the area.
“We are collecting information from the relatives of the deceased who are claiming not to have identified or given any trace of the bodies,” said Shakila, collecting information at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
Until around 2pm, the BRCS had at least 46 forms--30 in Chawkbazar and the rest in the DMCH--filled out by relatives of the victims whose bodies could not be found immediately, she said.
According to official count, at least 67 people have lost their lives at Nanda Kumar Lane in Churihatta.
Md Jashim Uddin Liton, co-owner of Haider Medical Hall, a local drugstore, said four people including a woman and a child, were killed inside the establishment soon after the fire started ravaging the area.
“There were at least eight people inside the dispensary during the incident. But two salespersons and a woman and her child could not escape the scene, dying on the spot,” he said.
As of 1:30pm, Jashim was seen on the DMCH morgue premises looking for traces of the dead.
Kazi Zahir, a Chawkbazar resident, went to the DMCH in search of his paternal uncle, Kazi Enamul Haque, who could not be contacted ever since the devastating fire erupted.
Zahir said Enamul was employed with an insurance company.
