Relatives of ‘missing’ people claim ‘remains of human bodies’ found inside Gazi Tyres factory after fire

Locals have found remains of human bodies inside the Gazi Tyres factory after the recent devastating fire that lasted over 30 hours, claimed relatives of individuals who have been reportedly missing after going inside the factory before the fire started.

They made the claims during a public hearing today (1 September) regarding the fire at  the factory in Rupganj of Narayanganj, arranged by the upazila administration.

Relatives of 80 such missing persons attended the hearing.

The members of the investigation committee formed to investigate the fire incident heard the statements of the relatives of missing people during the hearing.

During the hearing, the relatives expressed frustration over the delay in listing the missing people. 

At one point, the relatives blocked the highway demanding to know the whereabouts of the missing persons. 

Subsequently, officials from the upazila administration intervened to explain the situation and clear the road.

Following the public hearing, several relatives of the missing people entered the burnt building. Some individuals claimed to have discovered human bones and skulls on the third floor.

Sinthia, sister of missing Shahadat Hossain, claimed that she collected some of the bones and began showing them to others. 

She said, “I found these bones on the third floor of the factory. A few others are also found bones there, but everything is charred due to the fire.”

The recovered charred bones were subsequently handed over to the police officers.

Regarding this matter, Additional District Magistrate Hamidur Rahman said, “Locals collected some remains and handed them over to the police. We will proceed with the process of identifying them through DNA testing.”

The relatives claimed that at least 200 people were trapped inside during the fire and that most of them were unable to escape. 

Although the fire was brought under control 22 hours after the incident, it took nearly 30 hours to fully extinguish it. Even then, the fire service was unable to enter the building. 

The relatives questioned why the fire service was not able to enter the building with the aid of modern technology.

Hamidur Rahman, additional district magistrate of Narayanganj District Administration, Rupganj UNO Ahsan Mahmud Russell, and others were present at the public hearing.

Rupganj UNO Ahsan Mahmud Russell said the statements of relatives of the missing people have been heard at the hearing. 

The district administration’s investigation committee is investigating the entire matter, he added.

On 29 August, the Fire Service and Civil Defence said no bodies were discovered during rescue operations at the basement of the burnt Gazi Tyres factory.

The investigation committee and a team of experts, including a delegation from Buet, determined that the upper floors of the building were too structurally risky to allow for safe entry. 

Earlier, locals claimed that some 173 people might have been missing after the fire incident and the relatives of the missing people gathered in front of the factory building.

However, factory authorities claim that none of the missing individuals were workers, suggesting they might have entered the premises during a looting incident or for other purposes.