Gazi Tyre factory fire: ‘Remains of missing persons found inside factory’

Family members of those people who remain missing in the fire that engulfed Gazi Tyres Factory’s six-storey building on August 25 yesterday claimed that they have found remains, including human bones and skulls, inside it.
The family members stormed into the building in the afternoon defying restrictions. They climbed up to the third floor, risking their lives, where they reportedly found some human remains, reports our Narayanganj correspondent.
Sinthia, 17, from the Moikuli area in Rupganj, the sister of missing electric mechanic Shahadat Hossain, said she found a skull on the third floor and took it as evidence. She also saw some human bones there.
However, she handed over the skull to the police in the evening.
Earlier in the day, a probe committee formed by the district administration to investigate the fire incident held a public hearing from morning till noon.
The head of the probe committee, Hamidur Rahman, additional district magistrate of Narayanganj, told The Daily Star that they spoke with the family members of the reportedly missing people and recorded their statement.
“When we were in the upazila parishad after completing the public hearing, we heard that some human remains were found by locals and missing family members who had entered the building. Later, we discussed this with the deputy commissioner (DC) of Narayanganj. Being instructed by the DC, we ordered the police to collect the remains from the locals for further investigation,” Hamidur said.
Earlier, around 12:30pm, several families of the missing staged a demonstration by blocking the Dhaka-Sylhet highway.
“Day after day goes by, but no one says where my son is. I know I won’t get my son alive, but I want his remains at least. If I don’t get my son’s body or remains, I won’t leave,” said Rashida Begum, mother of missing Md Aman Ullah, sitting on the highway.
Later, law enforcers and members of the probe committee calmed the protesters down and managed to get them off the road.
The fire service and civil defence closed their operation on the evening of August 30 after completely extinguishing the massive fire at the factory.
Abdul Mannan, deputy assistant director of the Narayanganj Fire Service, said earlier that due to the building’s hazardous condition, an extensive search operation remains risky and has not been conducted. However, drones were used to check for any possible bodies inside the six-storied building, but none have been found so far.