Launch fire: Relatives crowd at Barguna Hospital in search of the missing

Relatives are crowding at the Barguna Sadar Hospital morgue in search of those missing in the MV Ovijan-10 launch fire on Sugandha River in Jhalokati.

Barguna Deputy Commissioner Habibur Rahman said the district administration has started the process of identifying the bodies.

The Barguna district administration received the bodies of 38 people from Jhalokati General Hospital. 

The bodies of five people have already been handed over to their relatives, he said, adding that the remaining 32 bodies have been kept in the morgue of Barguna Sadar Hospital.

The bodies will be kept in the morgue of Barguna Sadar Hospital till 11 am. If any of them can identify the body, it will be handed over to the relatives.

He said that as there is no proper system for preserving the bodies at Barguna Sadar Hospital, the bodies will be buried in the Potkakhali area of Dhalua Union of Sadar Upazila after 12 noon after completing the joint janaza at Circuit House ground.

The deputy commissioner further said that autopsy of each body has been done and samples have been kept for DNA test.

He said the district administration did not have specific information on how many people were missing so far, but a cell had been set up to collect the information.

We urge relatives to help with missing persons information, the DC said, adding that information on missing persons will be available in a day or two. 

“If anyone brings a DNA sample, they will be identified and the grave will be identified later.