Family loses six members in C’Bazar resort fire

BARISHAL, Oct 18: Mohammad Ziadul Kabir struggled to speak over the phone, his voice breaking with grief. He and his wife, Kajal Rekha, lost their only son, daughter and 5-year-old grandson in a fire at Tuptup Resort in the Patuartek beach area of Ukhiya Upazila in Cox’s Bazar.

Their son, Nafiz Tehami Jerif, 26, daughter Faria Kabir Sabrin, 33, and grandson Faizan Noor, 5, died in the fire. Three nieces of Kajal Rekha’s family also died: Israt Jahan Maliha, 30; Laila Jahan Nabila, 27; and Milita Mehzabin Alvi, 23. Maliha and Nabila were sisters. DNA tests are underway to confirm the identities of the recovered bodies.

Mohammad Ziadul Kabir, a resident of Kalipura Village in Amtali Upazila of Barguna District, recently retired as the upazila youth development officer in Galachipa Upazila of Patuakhali. His wife works at the Amtali Upazila Youth Development office. The couple lived in a rented flat in Amtali because of their jobs.

Their children and grandson were at the centre of their lives. After learning of the tragedy, the couple left for Cox’s Bazar by car. 

“My son, daughter and grandson are all gone. What will we live for? Oh Allah, take us too,” Kajal Rekha said.

The tragedy has also devastated the family of Nur Alam, a senior marketing officer at Drug International, a pharmaceutical company. Alam, originally from Gazirpar Village in Wazirpur Upazila of Barishal District, had lived in the Chuadanga town with his wife and son for nearly eight years.

According to relatives, his wife, Faria, had been ill for some time. The family nevertheless planned a trip to Cox’s Bazar to spend time with relatives. Alam travelled from Chuadanga to Dhaka with Faria and their son, Faizan, on October 14. The following day, they left for Cox’s Bazar with members of his in-laws’ family.

Alam’s father, Mohammad Ali Rari, said his son had never visited his ancestral village with his wife and child since getting married. The family has initially decided to bury the deceased in Dhaka, he said.

“My daughter-in-law, grandson and four other family members have died. It is unbearable. We cannot accept this loss,” Rari said.