Several people have come to Siddique Bazar near the Gulistan intersection in the capital early morning on Wednesday in search of their near ones, who have been missing since the explosion on Tuesday.
The Fire Service and Civil Defence called off the rescue operation for the day at around 11:00 pm on Tuesday. They will resume the operation on Wednesday morning. Before that, a team of the Bangladesh Army will go there and ensure security.
There was an explosion in a seven-storied building by the North-South Road in the Siddique Bazar area at around 4:45 pm. As of now, 18 people have died. As many as 16 bodies have been handed over to the family members of the victims.
The members of the fire service could not enter the building as it was risky due to the damage caused by the explosion. The rescue operation will resume today, Wednesday.
Abdul Mannan, who came in search of his son-in-law Mehedi Hasan, was sitting completely dejected near the spot at around 8:30 in the morning. Mehedi used to work as the manager of a shop in the building. He has been missing since the explosion.
Mehedi’s brother Sohag also came to the spot a few minutes later. Seeing him Abdul Mannan couldn’t hold his tears. Sohag desperately looked for his brother at the hospital, but all went in vain so far.
Sohag said, “The rescue operation must start immediately. I want to find my brother. I was told by the fire service yesterday (Tuesday) that it was not possible to enter the building as the column of the building collapsed. The entire building might collapse if they try to remove the collapsed columns from one side. They said they would try entering the building with the help of the army.”
Another man, Rasel, was also waiting for the rescue operation to start. His cousin Sumon is missing. Two more persons from Rasel’s family have come there, he said.
Currently, 19 people are undergoing treatment at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), said Md Bachchu Mia, in-charge inspector of DMCH police outpost.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, SM Aiyub Hossain, resident surgeon at Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, said that 10 patients have been admitted there.