Benapole Express fire: Relatives cling to hope for missing loved ones
Relatives of people who were on board the train and have been missing since the fire incident have been going from hospital to hospital to look for their kin
It was Saumi's first journey over the Padma rail bridge, and understandably, she was immensely excited about the trip.
"But destiny has cut her life's journey short," said Saumi's brother, Dibakar.
Dibakar Chaudhury has been searching for Chandrima Chaudhury Saumi, 28, a master's student of pharmacy at Asia Pacific University, who was on board the Benapole Express and has been missing since flames engulfed the train.
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"I thoroughly checked all four dead bodies here. These corpses don't match with my sister. I have rushed to all hospitals and concerned police stations, but she is nowhere," Dibakar wept.
"I have rushed to all hospitals and concerned police stations, but she is nowhere"
"She boarded the train at around 6:30pm from Rajbari, she was on vacation for a month. I even talked with her at least 10 minutes before the fire. I was on my way to Kamalapur railway station to receive her," he added.
"I frantically rushed to Gopibagh, but she was nowhere. The female dead body kept at DMCH doesn't match with my sister Saumi. She has curly hair, but the body there has straight hair," he told The Business Standard.
Saumi remains missing
The other missing persons are Abu Talha, 24; Natasha Jasmin, 25; and Alina Yeasmin, 40.
Benapole Express was en route to Dhaka, carrying passengers from Benapole. Shortly before reaching Kamalapur railway station, the fire broke out in front of the Gopibagh kitchen market around 9pm.
Three females and one man were among the four who died in the Benapole Express train fire at Dhaka's Gopibagh Friday night. However, none of them could be identified as the bodies were charred.
Eight, including two children, were undergoing treatment till Saturday at the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn & Plastic Surgery
"At first, I was not allowed to see the dead bodies. I saw them later but couldn't recognise them. Burnt corpses become half the size of their height"
After putting out the fire on the train at around 11pm, several locals and rescuers of the fire service said one or two children were among the dead. And the body seen hanging from the window of the train is male.
However, it was later claimed by the families of at least three women who were travelling on the train that their relatives were missing. This created confusion about the identity of the victims.
Morgue sources at Dhaka Medical College yesterday confirmed that there are no children among the dead. Forensic experts confirmed this after the autopsy.
However, as the family members of the deceased could not identify anyone, the bodies were kept in the hospital morgue after DNA samples were collected.
Sub-Inspector Setafur Rahman of Dhaka Railway police station said the DNA sample has been handed over to Dhaka Railway Police. "The samples will be sent to the forensic lab of the police's criminal investigation department to match them with family members of the missing."
He said the bodies will be handed over to their families after the DNA test
Searching for a missing son
Abdul Haque's son Abu Talha was also aboard the Benapole Express.
"At first, I was not allowed to see the dead bodies. I saw them later but couldn't recognise them. Burnt corpses become half the size of their height," said Abdul Haque.
He said, "Talha's mobile phone has been unreachable since the train was set on fire. I searched his university, but he didn't go there either. His teachers are also looking for him.
"I first went to Mugda Medical College and Hospital. I couldn't find him there. Then, I went to Sheikh Hasina Burn Institute, but I could not find my son. Then I went to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital."
Talha studies engineering at Bangladesh Army University of Science and Technology in Syedpur, the devastated father said. "I saw off my son at Faridpur station. He was supposed to go to Saidpur via Dhaka for his university."
"Alina couldn't get off immediately. She was looking for her son's medical documents."
He said he last spoke to his son on the Benapole Express train on Friday evening. "Then I heard the news of the train being on fire. I have not been able to find my son since then."
One cousin missing, another in burn unit
Alina Yeasmin has been missing since the train fire. She, her husband Sazzad Hossain, son Arfan, cousin Ratna, and her two sons Rihan and Dihan were travelling from Rajbari. Arfan, who has cardiac problems, had a scheduled appointment with a physician in Dhaka.
Ratna managed to escape the train and is now receiving treatment at the burn institute.
"My two sons were with me; even my cousin's sister's son Arfan was with me. We were preparing to get off the train. But, Alina couldn't get off immediately. She was looking for her son's medical documents. Just after the fire started, electricity went out and the entire compartment was like an inferno; we couldn't even breathe," Ratna said.
Wife missing, husband burnt
Natasha Jasmin's husband Asif Khan is taking burn treatment at Sheikh Hasina Burn Institute.
"She burnt to death in front of my eyes"
With 8% burn injury, Asif from his hospital bed told the media, "I somehow managed to breathe through the window, but my wife couldn't. Someone pulled me out of the train, but Jasmin fainted as she couldn't breathe and could not be saved."
"She burnt to death in front of my eyes," Asif said.
A physician burnt too
Dr Koushik Biswas, 32, a doctor at BSMMU, has a private chamber at his home in Faridpur. He sees patients there every Friday. Dr. Kaushik went to Faridpur on Friday morning and was supposed to return to Dhaka by Benapole Express.
When the train caught fire, he climbed down through the window. He was then taken to BSMMU when he started experiencing shortness of breath, from where he was shifted to the Burn Institute on Saturday midnight.
Dr Kaushik's mother, Aparna Biswas, told Business Standard, "My son is under observation. He is alive with the blessing of the almighty.
