Who will Jannat call father?

"My brother Moniruzzaman became the father of a baby girl – Jannatul Mawa – just two and a half months ago. In the morning we came to know he is no more. Now, who will Jannat call father," Md Ali, elder brother of firefighter Moniruzzaman, lamented while talking to The Business Standard at Chattogram Medical College Hospital on Sunday.

"We had a telephone conversation just two days ago," he mourned.

Moniruzzaman, who was serving the Cumilla station of the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence, joined the battle to douse the blaze at BM Container depot in Chattogram early Sunday. At one point, he lost his life in the battle.

The deceased, the son of Shamsul Haque of Cumilla's Nangalkot, got married three years ago. He became a joyous father being blessed with the birth of a girl. Ironically, the matter of sorrow is that the baby lost her beloved father even before she could utter the word 'dad'.

Moniruzzaman is one of the eight firefighters who sacrificed their lives while putting out the deadly fire that killed at least 49 as of Sunday evening.

The remains of five firefighters – Habibur Rahman, Jalal Uddin, Shakil Sardar, Salahuddin and Rabiul – could be identified, while that of others are yet to be recognised.

"We will collect DNA of relatives to identify the other deceased," said Anwar Hossain, deputy inspector general of police for Chattogram, while talking to TBS at the Chattogram Medical College Hospital Sunday evening. "We could not identify many of the deceased as their bodies were charred beyond recognition."

He noted that 15 of the deceased were identified by their relatives so far.
 
In search of missing ones 

BM Container depot-based truck helper Md Rubel talked to his father Saidul over the telephone on Saturday night, just before the fire incident, for the last time. He has been missing since then.

"My son told me we would come home after work, but did not return," the father Saidul told TBS while searching minutely for his son from one ward to another at the Chattogram Medical College Hospital dreading Rubel's death.

Another searcher Siam, a five-year-old boy who was accompanied by his mother at the hospital, was searching for his father Shahjahan, a worker at the BM depot.

Siam's mother Naznin, who lives in Chattogram's Fatikchhari area, said her husband's phone had been found switched off after their conversation at 9 pm Saturday.

Chattogram Civil Surgeon Dr Mohammad Elias Chowdhury on Sunday evening confirmed the deaths of 49 people in the fire incident, of which 41 were taken to the Chattogram Medical College Hospital.

"Currently, 90 wounded are undergoing treatment at the hospital," he added, noting that three were sent to the Combined Military Hospital, 15 to Parkview Hospital, and 6 to General Hospital.

The fire broke out at the BM Container Depot at Bhatiari around 8 pm and many containers full of chemicals exploded simultaneously.

The explosions reportedly shattered the windows of several buildings nearby and were felt from areas as far as 4 kilometres away.

Hydrogen Peroxide has been identified as the primary reason why it was taking the fire fighting units so long to douse the blaze.