Police have filed a case against 23 people over a fire that killed at least 10 tourists at a seaside resort in Bangladesh’s southeastern Cox’s Bazar district on October 17.
Four people, including resort owner Md Tanvir and Newaz Morshed, were named in the case filed late Saturday night, while the remaining 19 accused remain unidentified, Ukhiya Police Station Officer-in-Charge Atikur Rahman Majumder confirmed.
Resort manager Zahidul Islam, also known as Sumon, was detained at the scene on Saturday afternoon and subsequently shown as arrested in connection with the case.
The resort, Tuptup Resto & Resort, located at Patuartek in the Inani Beach area of Cox’s Bazar, was built mainly of bamboo and wood and was almost completely destroyed by the blaze, which spread rapidly amid strong winds, according to Fire Service and Civil Defense officials.
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The Fire Service and Civil Defense received information about the fire at 7:23am (local time) and reached the scene around 8:00am. The blaze was brought under control at about 8:15am, they added.
Syed Mohammad Morshed, assistant director of the Cox’s Bazar Fire Service and Civil Defense, said strong sea winds had fueled the rapid spread of the fire through the wooden resort.
The victims’ bodies are being held at Cox’s Bazar District Sadar Hospital morgue pending DNA tests to confirm their identities before being handed over to their families, officials said.
Relatives have waited outside the hospital morgue since Sunday morning, grieving and anxiously seeking information as they await DNA confirmation to take their loved ones home for burial.
As Cox’s Bazar lacks a forensic DNA laboratory, samples from relatives have been sent to the Criminal Investigation Department’s (CID) laboratory in the capital, Dhaka.
Identifying the bodies and completing the necessary formalities could take up to two weeks, according to hospital sources quoted by a local reporter.
Cox’s Bazar Superintendent of Police ANM Sajedur Rahman said police had so far contacted the families of seven of the 10 victims.
“DNA samples have been collected from their relatives and sent to Dhaka for testing. The bodies will be handed over to the families once their identities are confirmed,” he said.
Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner A Mannan said the cause of the fire remained under investigation, with the kitchen suspected as its point of origin.
A five-member probe committee, headed by Additional District Magistrate Tasnim Jahan, has been formed to investigate the fire and alleged negligence and mismanagement. The committee visited the scene on Sunday.
