Eleven bodies from the BM Container Depot explosion and fire in Chattogram’s Sitakunda are still unidentified as the authorities are waiting for DNA reports.
Meanwhile, the remains of 10 people have been turned over to their loved ones after identification.
The bodies of two victims – Md Mainuddin and Jewel Rana - and the partial remains of another victim named Abul Hashem were identified recently. They were turned over to the families on Thursday. Mainuddin was a truck driver and Jewel Rana was a labourer, according to Inspector Sumon Banik of Sitakunda Police Station, reports bdnews24.com.
The eight others previously identified were Akhtar Hossain, Abul Hashem, Abdul Monir, Md Babul Miah, Md Sakib, Md Rasel, Md Shahjahan and Abdus Sobhan.
The CID forensic lab completed the DNA profiles of eight bodies and confirmed their identities on Jul 7. Another three DNA profile reports came in on Wednesday night.
“Of the three DNA profile reports that came in on Thursday, two identified the victims in entirety, while the third identified a leg separated from the body,” said Sumon.
The leg belonged to a dead man, Abul Hashem, who had previously been identified and handed over to his family on Jul 9. A separate DNA test was conducted to identify the severed leg.
The blaze at the private container depot in the Keshabpur area started on Jun 4. The fire service, with support from the army, the navy, and other government agencies, put out the fire after 86 hours.
On Jun 5, the district administration counted 41 deaths from the blaze, including nine firefighters. The remains of two other people were recovered from the depot debris on Jun 7. Another two victims of the fire died on Jun 8, bringing the death toll to 45. More than 200 people, including transport workers, were injured in the incident.
During the cleaning of the depot, more human remains were found at the depot.
The investigators are treating each of the remains as a separate body and conducting DNA tests, Inspector Sumon said. If counted in that fashion, DNA profiles have been completed for 22 bodies.
“We got 11 reports so far. Two of those were reports on the same person.”
The remaining 11 bodies are still in storage at the Chattogram Medical College Hospital morgue, awaiting identification.
