Though the number of people reported missing is over 130 following the devastating fire at the Gazi Tyres factory in Rupganj, Narayanganj, rescue teams have been unable to recover any bodies in four days.
As three floors of the six-storey building collapsed in the fire, the investigation committee of the fire service and district administration said it was risky to enter the building and search for any bodies.
Due to this, on Wednesday night, a building expert from Buet formed a five-member investigation committee including the fire service. The fire service said firefighters would enter the building only after getting their advice and permission, Talha bin Jasim, media cell officer of the fire service, said.
He added: "Chemicals, prolonged fire and water pressure caused the roof of the third and fourth floors of the building to collapse. There is no chance for anyone walking by to search for bodies. We are using drone cameras and ladders to assess the condition of the collapsed floors. The investigation committee has been informed. Today, an expert committee was formed. We will take action according to what they say. The fire has been extinguished. However, we are still trying to catch fire in some places."
Meanwhile, a fire service official, on condition of anonymity, said the first to fourth floors were examined using drone cameras and no body or remains were found on those floors. "Despite over 100 individuals being reported missing after the devastating, no bodies have been recovered from the building."
Drones search for victims
According to the list made by the police, upazila administration and students from Wednesday morning, the number of people missing since the day of the fire at Gazi Tyres is currently 133 people.
Apart from this, many people are bringing names and addresses.
One of them is missing Alauddin's niece Russell.
Even though he came to look for his uncle in the morning, he could not write his name on the list because he did not have a voter ID. So he came in the evening to register.
Russell said: "My uncle has been missing since Sunday night. He called me at 11 pm and told me, 'You can’t see me anymore, the fire broke out and I screamed.' Then the phone got disconnected, and I couldn’t get through. Later, I saw on the news that there was a fire. I have been searching at Dhaka Medical and Gausia hospitals for the past two days. So, I came here today."
Noor Alam's mother Noor Banu also came. She is looking for his son with his ID card.
It is known that Noor Alam also entered this building along with his seven friends on Sunday night and got trapped. The same situation happened with Apu and his uncle Nazrul.
This is what Apu's father Omar Farooq said.
According to the district administration’s investigation committee, no evidence of bodies was found on the collapsed floors using drone cameras and ladders.
On Wednesday afternoon, after inspecting the gutted building, the head of the district administration’s investigation committee and Additional District Magistrate Hamidur Rahman made these statements.
He said: "Fire service drones and ladders have been used to inspect the building, but no dead bodies have been found. Additionally, a significant amount of chemicals burned here, so even if there were bodies, it would be unlikely to find them in such conditions.”
The fire burned continuously for 21-22 hours. Typically, after burning for around four hours, a body would turn to ash.
“Therefore, we cannot specify how many dead bodies are inside the building at this moment."
He also noted that three floors of the building have collapsed.
"Fire service officials used drones to observe the aftermath of the fire incident. The observation found that the 4th, 5th, and 6th floors have collapsed. There is still flame inside. Therefore, a rescue operation cannot be started on Wednesday. Technical experts will decide whether they can enter the building for the operation. If they cannot, national-level officials from Dhaka will come to begin the work."
Citing eyewitnesses, he mentioned: "Some infiltrators arrived here on August 25. They spread out across various floors. A fire was set on the ground floor at night."
He added: "An 8-member investigation committee has been formed by the district administration. I came with the committee members for the inspection. The investigation report will be submitted within the next 10 days."
On Tuesday, the committee was formed under the leadership of Narayanganj Additional District Magistrate Hamidur Rahman.
An expert team from Buet will come and inspect the building very soon, he added,
The head of the investigation committee also said that the investigation committee would talk to the fire service authorities about this.
“If it is not possible for them to search locally, the assistance of higher authorities at the national level, including the assistance of the army, will be sought. The investigation committee will conduct the proceedings as per the subsequent decision of the higher authorities. It is not possible to say how many people have been killed or missing in this incident. However, their names are being recorded. We will soon compile a list of the missing by talking to the relatives.”
Regarding the investigation report, he said that the work of the investigation report is ongoing.
The inquiry report will be submitted within ten working days.
“We will report our investigation on whether the structure of the building is correct or not, whether all the rules are followed, and whether the gas connection and electricity connection are working properly or not. You will see it soon.”
At the end of the briefing, in the presence of members of the investigation committee, the fire service conducted a search of the destroyed building by flying a drone.
But no sign of a body came up in the video taken by the drone.
But immediately after the announcement that the body was not found, the relatives of the missing people erupted in anger at the main gate of the factory.
What do Gazi Group officials say?
Gazi Tyres Executive Director (Administration) Brigadier General Muhammad Kamruzzaman said that a general diary was made with Rupganj police station.
And since the rescue work has not been completed, no legal action has been taken in this regard.
He complained that they did not get the help they needed from the police, RAB, BGB or the army.
“We understand that it might not have been possible in this state of the country. However, since Golam Dastgir Gazi was arrested, the attack could have been prevented if a little attention had been paid.”
Gazi Group Deputy Manager Rafikujjaman said about the factory workers: “We will pay this month's salary. But I don't know what will happen after that. Since the chairman sir (Golam Dastgir Gazi) is in trouble now, it is difficult to take a decision.”
“However, an institution that has been built up through the hardships of so many days cannot be allowed to be destroyed like this. So we will try. But this process may take a long time”, said the official.
It is to be noted that on Sunday afternoon, when the Narayanganj court granted a six-day remand to the factory owner Golam Dastgir Gazi, the former member of parliament of Narayanganj-1 constituency, the leaders and activists of BNP and various allied organizations took out a joyous procession in Rupsi area of Rupganj.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people reportedly entered the Gazi Tyre factory and looted various items including machinery and furniture.
At that time miscreants set fire to the ground floor of the building around 8pm. The fire spread up to the sixth floor at around 9pm in the night.
At that time, several people were trapped inside the building, their relatives claimed.
After receiving the news, 12 units of fire service started to control the fire from that night.
After 22 hours of efforts, the fire service brought the fire under control on Monday evening.
However, fire was seen in different parts of the building till 9:30pm on Wednesday.
