Staff Reporter:
At least 45 people died in a fire that broke out in a commercial building housing the Kacchi Bhai restaurant at Bailey Road in the capital on Thursday (29 February).
Until 9:30am this morning (1 March), bodies of 34 deceased have been handed over to the families without autopsy, confirmed Assistant Commissioner Refatul Islam of the police’s Newmarket Zone.
“The bodies are being handed over without autopsy at the request of the family members,” he added.
Health Minister Samanta Lal told The media at around 2:05am Friday (1 March) that of the deceased, 33 bodies were in Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and 10 in the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery (SHNIBPS).
Later, the bodies of at least two more people who died in the fire were brought to the DMCH at around 3:00am, according to sources at the Ramna Zone of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
At least 13 units of the fire service managed to bring the fire under control at around 11:50pm, according to officials.
The fire is believed to have originated from the ground floor of the building.
Fire Service officials said they were informed of the fire at 9:50pm and the first unit reached the spot at 9:56pm. The reason for the fire is yet to be identified.
