At least 10 tourists, including a five-year-old child, died when a fire tore through a three-storey resort near Inani Beach in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district on Saturday morning. Several others were injured in the blaze at TUPTUP Resto and Resort, a wooden property that authorities had warned about fire-safety risks in June.
The fire broke out at around 6.30 am in the Patuartek area of Ukhiya, although some local reports put the time closer to 7 am. The resort was built largely from bamboo and wood, with a restaurant on the ground floor and guest rooms on the two floors above. The flames spread quickly through the structure, leaving much of the building gutted.
A notice issued on June 11 described the building as hazardous, but the property continued to operate without the required fire-safety clearance, according to reports by The Daily Star and bdnews24. Emergency crews received the alert at around 7.25 am and reached the property at about 8 am. Fire officials initially reported five deaths, followed by six, before confirming that 10 bodies had been recovered. Morshed Hossain told Prothom Alo that the bodies had been found by 2.15 pm and that rescue workers were checking whether anyone else remained inside. Prothom Alo identified six of the victims as Israt Jahan Maliha, 30, Milita Mehezabin Alvi, 23, Laila Jahan Nabila, 27, Nafista Mim, 27, Fariha Kabir, 33, and five-year-old Faizan Ahmed. Early reports suggested that around 30 people were staying at the resort when the fire broke out, with four or five managing to escape.
Neither explanation had been confirmed by investigators.
Fire Service and Civil Defence Director General Brigadier General Sultanul Afreen Junaid said an inspector had visited the resort in June. Syed Muhammad Morshed Hossain, a senior Cox’s Bazar Fire Service official, said the building had been gutted. Ukhiya official Panna Akter said DNA testing would be needed to establish the identities of those victims. Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner A Mannan said the fire might have started near a stove in the kitchen.
Firefighters, police officers and local residents worked to contain the flames, which were brought under control by late morning. The death toll rose as rescue workers searched the burnt-out resort. The remaining four bodies were badly burnt, making identification difficult. Officials were still checking the guest list and contacting the resort’s management, however, so the total number of people present had not been established. An electrical short circuit has also been cited in local reports as a possible cause.
A five-member committee headed by an additional district magistrate has been formed to investigate the incident. The inquiry is expected to establish how the fire started and examine the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
