At least 10 people died and several others were injured after a fire engulfed a seaside resort in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district on Saturday, officials and local media reported.
Six of the victims belonged to the same family, making them the only deceased whose identities have been confirmed so far.
The blaze erupted at Tuptup Resto and Resort in Ukhiya at around 7.25am local time, reducing the three-storey wooden building to ashes, officials said.
The resort was operating without a fire-safety licence and had received a warning following an inspection in June, Fire Service and Civil Defence Director Sultanul Afreen Junaid was quoted as saying in local media reports.
According to the Prothom Alo newspaper, Ashiqul Islam, who was holidaying at the resort with his family, survived after jumping from the second floor.
His wife, Israt Jahan Maliha, and five other members of the family were among those killed, the newspaper reported, citing Ashiqul's brother.
Six of the 10 deceased have been identified as Israt Jahan Maliha (30), Milita Mehezabien Alvi (23), Laila Jahan Nabila (27), Nafista Meem (27), Fariha Kabir (33) and five-year-old Faizan Ahmed, Prothom Alo reported, citing the resident medical officer at Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital.
The Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters confirmed that 10 bodies had been recovered, according to The Daily Star newspaper.
Nine injured people were taken to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital, bdnews 24 reported.
Sabuktagin Mahmud Sohel, resident medical officer at the same hospital, said five of the injured had burns covering around 5 per cent of their bodies.
They are being treated by a team of doctors, while the four others were discharged.
The three-storey resort, built mainly of bamboo and wood, was located in the outskirts of Kolatoli, a popular beach town, around 410 km from capital city Dhaka.
Around 30 people were reportedly at the resort when the fire broke out. Four to five people managed to escape, but the whereabouts and condition of the others remain unknown, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
It is not immediately clear if Ashiqul Islam is one of them.
Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner A Mannan said the cause of the fire remains unknown. It is under investigation.
He further said some people suspected the blaze might have started in the resort’s kitchen. However, the cause could not be established until the investigation was complete.