Three graves dug for family in Mymensingh as six die in Uttara blaze

Three of the six people killed in a fire in Dhaka’s Uttara have been identified as residents of Ishwarganj Upazila in Mymensingh. 

Locals at Daripachashi village were seen digging three graves side-by-side on Friday afternoon as a pall of gloom descended over the community.

The Ishwarganj family victims are Md Haris Uddin, 52, his son Hisan Uddin Rahab, 17, and his niece Rodela, 14, daughter of Haris’s younger brother Shahidul Islam.

Relatives said Haris and Shahidul had long run a fruit business together in Uttara and lived with their families in a flat. 

Shahidul, his wife Shiuli Akter, and their 4-year-old son Umar Uddin were seriously injured in the fire at the residential building and are receiving treatment in hospital.

The blaze broke out around 7:50am on the second floor of a six-storey building in Uttara Sector No. 11.

Firefighters rescued 16 people, six of whom died. The other victims were Kazi Fazle Rabbi Rizvi, 38, his wife Afroza Akter Suborna, 37, and their 2-year-old son Kazi Fayyaz Rishan from Cumilla Sadar.

Preparations were under way in the evening for the joint burial of the Ishwarganj family. Neighbours and relatives gathered at their home, expressing grief and remembering the dead. 

The funeral prayers are scheduled for 10pm, after which the three will be buried together.

Nazrul Islam, uncle of Haris, said: “He was a good man. I never imagined such a tragic death. Losing father and son together has left the family devastated.”

Local resident Robin Hossain added, “The entire village has fallen silent in shock over this tragedy.”

Union Parishad member Atikul Islam Pias said, “The death of three members of the same family has stunned the union. We will work with the UP chairman and Upazila administration to support the grieving family as much as possible.”