Some 25 people killed in a devastating fire at Chawkbazar in Old Dhaka on Wednesday were identified as workers, according to the labour and employment ministry.
Besides, the ministry formed a four-member committee to prepare a complete list of the deceased and injured persons.
The ministry at a press briefing on Monday said some 35 persons out of total fire victims were workers.
The committee headed by deputy inspector of Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) Md Zakir Hossain was formed by the ministry after the deadly fire incident took place.
Among the victims, 22 were working at several factories and shops apart from two rickshaw van pullers and one hawker.
However, a team of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is now working at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) to cross-match DNA samples of unidentified victims in a bid to hand over the bodies to their family members.
Fourteen out of 19 unidentified bodies could be handed over to their family members within next 15 days, said CID officials. But it will take more time to hand over five other bodies, they added.
As of Monday, the authorities concerned handed over 48 bodies out of 67 and at least 42 persons provided DNA samples for the remaining 19 bodies, assistant analyst of CID Ashraful Alam told the FE.
"More time (three weeks or more) is needed for identifying the remaining five bodies as the five were badly burned in the fire," he added.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at a regular press briefing on Monday said they were working to identify the bodies with modern DNA matching technology.
Additional DIG of CID Sheikh Md Rezaul Haider expressed the hope that they would be able to hand over the bodies immediately after going through the medical identification process.
After the deadly fire incident, CID has taken steps to identify the bodies, which remain unidentified, after taking DNA samples of victims' families. So far, 48 bodies were handed over to the victims' families.
Since February 21, the CID started collecting DNA samples after family members provided DNA samples to the makeshift information centre set up at DMCH.
At least 67 people were killed and 41 others injured in the devastating fire that broke out at a chemical warehouse and raged through several nearby buildings at Chawkbazar in Old Dhaka.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
