Family members of unidentified victims during a fire and massive explosion at privately-run inland container depot, BM Container Depot, at Sitakunda on the outskirts of the country’s port city Chattogram on Saturday night gathered in front of Chattogram Medical College Hospital on Monday morning.

While visiting the hospital on Monday morning, it was seen that the family members were looking for their relatives at the CMCH morgue. To identify the dead body the family members had to provide DNA sample to the hospital.

19-year-old Reshmi Begum came to CMCH along with her three-month-old baby from Fatikchhari in Chattogram to search for her husband Md Shahjahan who remained missing after the fire incident at BM Container Depot.

Md Shahjahan was a covered van driver and he was at the BM Container Depot during the fire and massive explosion on Saturday night.

Reshmi Begum told New Age that ‘he called me in the evening and informed me that he went to BM Container Depot to unload goods. When we learnt that there was a fire incident, I immediately called him but failed to contact him.’
Related Coverage:

    ›  Container depot fire kills 49, injures over 200 in Bangladesh port city

Like Reshmi Begum, the family members of other victims who were at the depot during the fire gathered in front of CMCH to identify the victims.

Hemayet Ullah came from Dhaka in search of his son Md Mainuddin, 22, who remained missing since Saturday night.

Mainuddin was a lorry driver and went to the depot with goods, Hemayet Ullah told New Age.

Another transport worker Md Sakib, 19, remained missing since Saturday night. His elder brother Abdul Hannan came to CMCH from Subarnachar of Noakhali in search of his brother.

‘My brother called me during the fire. He informed me that there was a fire in a container. He was watching the fire incident and capturing videos. We requested him to leave but he didn’t care,’ Abdul Hannan told New Age.

However, authorities were collecting DNA samples to identify the victims. The family members were waiting in a queue to provide DNA samples.

Chattogram range deputy inspector general Md Anwar Hossain on Monday morning at CMCH said that they were collecting DNA samples to identify the victims.

However, a total of 22 bodies were handed over to their family members till Monday 10:30am, assistant commissioner Pratik Dutta of Chattogram district administration told New Age.

However, the authorities could identify the 24 bodies out of 49 till Monday morning while the rest of the bodies remained unidentified.

Authorities couldn’t identify the bodies as the faces of most of the bodies were distorted, said officials.

At least 49 people including nine firefighters were killed and over 200 people were injured in an explosion as a fire broke out in a privately-run inland container depot at Sitakunda in Bangladesh’s southeast district of Chattogram on the night following Saturday.

The fire originated at a container, loaded with hydrogen peroxide, at about 9:30pm on Saturday and it experienced a massive explosion at about 10:10pm. Later, the fire spread to the other containers.

There were 33 containers which were filled with hydrogen peroxide and were brought to the BM Container Depot on June 1 and June 2.

The 33 containers of hydrogen peroxide chemical were owned by Al Razi Chemical Complex Limited, a sister concern of Smart Group of Industries which is also the owner of BM Container Depot, said an official.

Mujibur Rahman, the editor of Chattogram local daily Purbodesh and treasurer of Chattogram south district Awami League, is the owner of Al Razi Chemical Complex Limited and BM Container Depot.

BM Container Depot, a Dutch-Bangladeshi joint venture, was set up as an inland container depot that has been operating since May 2011, one of 19 such ICDs in Chattogram.

The chairman of the depot is Dutch businessman Bert Pronk, who has other investments too in Bangladesh, while the managing director is Mustafizur Rahman of the Smart Group of Industries.