Published : 18 Oct 2026, 03:39 PM
Updated : 18 Oct 2026, 03:39 PM
DNA identification has begun for the victims of a resort fire in Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhiya, with family members providing samples at the Criminal Investigation Department’s office in Dhaka.
“Some family members of those killed in the Cox’s Bazar incident have come to provide DNA samples. Our forensic department is working on it,” CID Special Superintendent of Police Md Sufi Ullah said on Sunday.
Abu Taleb, an uncle of Israt Jahan Maliha and Layla Jahan Nabila, who were among those killed and lived in Dhaka’s Banasree, said the victims’ parents went to the CID office in Malibagh on Sunday morning to provide samples.
He said the CID was trying to collect samples from the remains of the victims in Cox’s Bazar, adding that several representatives of the family were there.
The fire broke out around 6:30am on Saturday at TUPTUP Resort in Inani’s Patuar Tek along the Ukhiya Marine Drive. Ten people were killed. Six of the nine members of one family died in the fire.
The six victims were Maliha, wife of Ashiqul Islam of Rampura-Banasree in Dhaka; her sisters-in-law Nabila, Milita Mehzabin Alvi and Fariha Kabir; Nafis Tehami Jerif, a University of Dhaka student and a member of the family; and 5-year-old Faizan Ahmad.
Relatives said the family had travelled from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar on Thursday for a holiday and were scheduled to return to the capital on Saturday. They were preparing for the return journey when the fire broke out that morning, devastating the family’s plans.
Police and the Fire Service said the blaze was brought under control around 8:30am after two hours of efforts.
However, the bodies of all 10 victims were so severely burnt that they could not be identified visually.
“The 10 bodies have been burnt to a horrific extent, reduced to ashes. There is no way to recognise them,” officials said, underscoring the need for DNA tests to confirm their identities.