Husband Found Embracing Wife, Who Was Holding Child, Among Bodies at Cox’s Bazar Resort

A heartbreaking scene emerged during rescue operations at Tuptup Resto and Resort in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, where a man was found embracing a woman who was holding a young child after a devastating fire. The bodies were so badly burned and disfigured that their identities could not be confirmed, although investigators suspect they may belong to a missing family.

Senior Fire Service official Dolon Acharya told The Daily Campus on Saturday (October 18) that the bodies were recovered from the resort’s heavily damaged structure.

Five bodies were found in one room, he said, although it was unclear whether the room had separate partitions. The fire had severely disfigured the bodies, with some burned into small lumps, making it difficult to determine whether they belonged to children or adults. In some cases, only parts of the legs were visible, preventing identification.

Acharya said a man's body was first found in a washroom beside the room. Further searches of the surrounding area led to the discovery of additional bodies.

When rescuers reached the third floor, they found that almost the entire structure had collapsed, leaving only the concrete pillars standing. A tiled section of a washroom remained intact, allowing rescuers to locate bodies in that area.

During the search, rescuers initially found one body on the third floor. After moving further up, they discovered four more bodies in the same area: one child, two women and one man. The man was holding one of the women, who was embracing the young child. Rescuers suspect they may have been a husband, wife and their child.

Another woman's body was found beside them. Although some of the bodies were less severely burned than others, their faces were unrecognisable. Authorities are considering whether fingerprint analysis could help establish their identities.

Acharya said the bodies might match reports that four members of a family were missing. The family reportedly had two children, one older and one younger. However, it has not been confirmed whether the recovered bodies belonged to them.

Another nearby body was also extensively burned, while some bodies were relatively less damaged than the others. Rescuers had to use ropes to lower the bodies because the condition of the building made it impossible to use a normal route.

Wooden stairs damaged, trapping people upstairs

Describing the building's structure, Acharya said the floor of the restaurant section on the ground level had completely collapsed. The kitchen was located on the ground floor at the rear of the hotel, where some walls remained standing.

However, much of the second and third floors had been built using wooden-board structures. Apart from the concrete pillars, most of the building's other sections were made of boards.

The stairs, constructed from wood and bamboo, were damaged soon after the fire broke out, preventing people on the upper floors from getting downstairs. Some children reportedly jumped into an adjacent room to escape the flames.

Acharya said people on the upper floors were particularly affected because the building's structure was weak.

Authorities conducted another search of the entire area to determine whether any additional bodies had been left behind outside the third-floor washroom. The tiled washroom section was relatively sturdy, which helped preserve the area where the bodies were found. The rest of the building had been burned and had collapsed, making the search more difficult.

Acharya said the outcome might have been different if the building had been equipped with a strong steel staircase. The wooden and bamboo stairs were quickly destroyed by the fire, cutting off the escape route for people on the upper floors.

There were also glass windows at the rear of the third floor, but it remained unclear whether anyone had managed to escape through them.

Ten killed, six injured

The fire broke out on Saturday (October 17) morning at Tuptup Resort in the Patuyartek area of Ukhiya, beside Marine Drive. A total of 10 bodies were recovered, while six people were injured and taken for treatment at Chattogram Medical College Hospital.

According to a list published by news outlets, the identified victims were Israt Jahan Maliha, 30; Milita Mehezabin Alvi, 23; Laila Jahan Nabila, 27; Nafista Mim, 27; Fariha Kabir, 33; five-year-old Faizan Ahmed; Nasrin Akter Mukta, 29; Dhaka University student Md Nafis Tehami; Jihad Howlader; and Tarikul Islam.

The six injured people were identified as physician Shihab Uddin, 31; his wife Nafiza Newaz Khan, 29; Mannan, 34; Meherunnesa, 30; Masud, 30; and Samida, 32.

Published reports said five of the injured people had burns covering approximately five per cent of their bodies.

Restaurant manager arrested, resort owners missing

Police have arrested Mohammad Sumon, the restaurant manager of the resort, in connection with the fire. He was reportedly detained at around 4:30pm on Saturday at the resort in the Inani Patuyartek area along Marine Drive.

Resort owners Niaz Morshed and Tanvir have also been untraceable since the fire.

Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner A Mohammad Mannan said a five-member committee had been formed to investigate the incident.

Engineer Mohammad Jasim Uddin, chairman of the Cox’s Bazar Development Authority (CoxDA), said the resort did not have the authority's approval. Although a notice had previously been issued, no effective action had been taken, he said.

Jasim Uddin added that verifying the approval status of more than 1,000 establishments along Marine Drive was taking time. Notices had already been issued to more than 250 establishments whose records had been checked, asking them to establish their legal status.

Final notices would be issued after the stipulated period, followed by eviction drives conducted through executive magistrates, he said.

Fire Service Director General Brigadier General Sultanul Afreen said Tuptup Resto and Resort did not have a Fire Service licence. The authorities had been warned earlier but failed to obtain the required approval, he said.

More than 200 other establishments without Fire Service licences had also been issued warning notices. Afreen said instructions had arrived from Dhaka on Saturday to take swift legal action against the establishments concerned.