At least 174 people have been reported missing following an arson attack at the Gazi Tyre Factory in Rupganj upazila of Narayanganj on Sunday night.
Lieutenant Colonel Rezaul Karim, director of the Fire Service and Civil Defense (Dhaka), said that a preliminary list of 174 missing individuals, reported by their family members, was compiled as of 3PM on Monday.
But the factory authorities claimed that none of the missing individuals were the workers. They suspected that the missing persons might have entered the factory during looting or for other purposes.
The devastating fire broke out after looters, who had entered the factory around 9PM on Sunday, set fire to the six-storey buildings located in Rupshi of Rupganj upazila. A total of 12 units of firefighters engaged to control the flame but as of 4:30PM on Monday (August 26), but fire was still blazing.
The relatives of the missing persons, who were at the tyres factory during the looting on Sunday night, said that they have not been able to contact them since, and their phones remain switched off.
Talha bin Jasim from the Fire Service Media Cell said that the flammable materials and raw materials inside the factory made it difficult to control the fire.
In response to concerns from missing persons' families, the official said the fire service has compiled a list of 174 missing individuals, who are believed to be trapped inside the factory.
He said at this moment, there is no opportunity to verify this information. They are documenting the names and addresses provided by the relatives, and so far, the list includes 174 names," he said.
Sources said that the arson attack on the factory was carried out after Golam Dastagir Gazi, the chairman of Gazi Group and former Awami League minister, was arrested from the capital.
They claimed that the attack and subsequent looting were allegedly carried out by a group of assailants and later that one group held people inside while another set the fire.
Among the missing are -- Abdur Rahman, 30, a worker at a cement factory; Md Sujan, 28, a scrap dealer; his sister Mafia Begum, 30; her husband Md Ratan, 35; Hasan Ali 32, a mason from the Baralu area; and his two friends, Ohid, 32 and Rubel, 30.
