‘I just want to see her one last time’
Families of the victims of the Narayanganj factory fire gathered in front of DMCH on Friday seeking to see their missing family members one last time
Without any food, sleep, or rest, Md Selim, 32, had looked for his wife Amrita Begum for more than 12 hours at the Shezan Juice factory fire site in Narayanganj.
All his search went to vain and now Selim has to face the harsh truth that his wife is not alive anymore.
"I do not know what I will tell my seven-year-old daughter," he said, weeping, in front of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on Friday afternoon. He had come there to look for his wife again – only this time, he was looking for her dead body.
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Life for Selim, a rickshaw-puller, was quite happy. Both he and his wife were earning to take care of their daughter. But Thursday's fire devastated this family's happiness.
Selim blamed the fire-fighting units for the number of casualties when talking to The Business Standard.
"The firefighters were going inside for a minute and coming out the next. I think If they had not been so negligent, so many people would not have died," he said.
Selim also said if the gates to the roof were not locked, more workers could have survived. Expressing anger, Selim added that no one even bothered to comfort the people who lost their families in the fire.
"I do not know where to go to get justice...I do not even know when I will get my wife's dead body," he said.
Selim submitted samples for the DNA test at the DMCH but it might take at least three weeks before he hears back from the hospital authority.
'Looking for my daughter'
Sujan Mia, a rickshaw-puller, was looking for her younger daughter at the DMCH on Friday afternoon. Both his daughters worked at the factory of Hashem Food and Beverage but even though his older daughter came back home safely, his younger daughter never returned.
"I last spoke to my daughter yesterday at 7am. I at least want to see her now, even if it is her dead body," he said.
Like Md Selim, Sujan also submitted samples for the DNA test and is awaiting results.
