Three shopkeepers from Feni suffocated in the Chawkbazar fire, in Old Dhaka, after they became trapped inside their shop and were unable to escape the fire.
Ibrahim Hossain, 30, Anwar Hossain, 27, and Sujail Huq, 55, were tending to their kiosk—selling betel leaves at Haji Wahed Mansion market in front of Churihatta masjid—when the blazing inferno took their lives, on Wednesday.
Ibrahim and Anwar both hailed from Neampur Bhuiyan Bari village, in Lemua union under Feni Sadar upazila, while Sujail—Ibrahim's father-in-law—hailed from Goahila village in Nawabpur union under Sonagazi upazila.
Ibrahim's older brother Jamal Uddin Bhuiyan confirmed the information to the Dhaka Tribune over the phone.
"Ibrahim married Sujail's daughter, Rokhsana Akter, five years ago," Jamal said. "He has two infant daughters, Mamuna and Maima. Anwar only got married a year ago, and has a one-year-old daughter."
Locals said, Ibrahim and Anwar's unemployment ceased when they became involved in the betel leaf business. However, Wednesday's fire put an end to their happy days.
Sorrow came down upon the villagers after they heard of Ibrahim, Anwar, and Sujail's deaths. Relatives and neighbours of the trio have been shocked into silence at the tragic incident.
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The victims' bodies were identified and collected on Thursday afternoon, by relatives, Ibrahim's brother confirmed.
After shopkeepers from Rana Telecom, Habib Tailors and Haider Pharmacy on the ground floor of Wahed Mansion got to know of the fire—which spread from Wahed Mansion on Nanda Kumar Lane in Churihatta to nearby buildings—they closed their shutters, thinking it would keep them safe.
However, the intensity of the inferno suffocated those inside the shops, killing them instantly.
Wednesday's fire—which broke out around 10:35pm due to an explosion of a gas cylinder in front of a shop near Churihatta masjid—was finally quelled 11 hours later, on Thursday, by 37 units of firefighters from 13 stations.
The fire killed 67 people, leaving scores injured with severe burn injuries.
Large number of Noakhali residents among Chawkbazar victims
At least 10 victims were identified as from Noakhali. Eight were from Nateshwar union of Sonaimuri upazila and the other two were from the Begumganj and Companiganj upazilas.
Among the eight, two brothers, Masudur Rahman Raju, 28, and Masud Rana, 30, hailed from the union’s Ghoshkamta area. The others are: Miyon Hazi Bari’s Md Ali, 55, Bottola area’s Shahadat Hossain Hira, 27, Mirza Nagar’s Anwar Hossain Manjur, 28, Nasir Uddin, 29, Ward 4’s Siddiqullah, and Mizhi Bari’s Helaluddin.
Kamal Hossain, 45, another victim, hailed from Begumganj, while Jamal Uddin, 45, was from Companiganj.
Sonaimuri police station Officer-in-Charge, Abdus Samad, said at least 30-35 fire victims of the Chawkbazar fire might be from Nateshwar union of Sonaimuri upazila.
Their deaths have overcast Noakhali with sorrow; and relatives of the victims have broken down upon receiving confirmation of the victims' identities.
