Ten people, including eight members of the same family, lost their lives after a fierce blaze swept through a seaside wooden resort in Cox’s Bazar on Saturday morning, whilst a separate fire destroyed a row of jute warehouses in Narayanganj.
The tragic incident at Inani Beach in Ukhiya unfolded around 7:00 am at the Tuptup Restaurant and Resort, located along the scenic Marine Drive in the Patuartek area, approximately 29 kilometres from the main tourist hub of Kalatali. Built primarily of timber, the three-storey structure caught fire rapidly. eyewitnesses reported hearing a loud explosion shortly before flames swallowed all nine rooms of the establishment.
Emergency rescue teams noted that the rapid spread of the inferno was exacerbated when air conditioning units and gas cylinders exploded within minutes of the outbreak. Units from the Fire Service and Civil Defence, backed by the Bangladesh Police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and local response forces, rushed to the scene. Firefighters battled the blaze for hours, finally bringing it under control around 11:00 am.
Talha Bin Zasim, media officer for the Fire Service and Civil Defence, confirmed the death toll. Rescue personnel initially recovered six bodies from the charred ruins. During subsequent search operations inside the gutted structure, four more victims were discovered crammed inside a bathroom, taking the total casualties to ten, alongside seven injured tourists currently receiving emergency care at local health facilities. Six of the victims have been identified as Ishrat Jahan Maliha (30) and Milita Mehejabin Alvi (23) from Banasree, Dhaka; Laila Jahan Nabila (27) and Nafista Mim (27) from Khilgaon, Dhaka; and Fariha Kabir (33) along with five-year-old Faijan Ahmed from Chuadanga.
Cox’s Bazar district administration has formed a five-member inquiry committee, headed by the Additional District Magistrate, to investigate the tragedy. The panel will examine the precise cause of the fire, assess the building’s safety compliance, and establish accountability for the loss of lives. Preliminary investigations suggest that an electrical short circuit triggered the disaster.
In a separate event during the early hours of Saturday, another major fire broke out at a jute warehouse complex in the Kuripara Bottala area of Narayanganj City Corporation’s Ward 27. The outbreak, reported at around 4:00 am, destroyed 14 corrugated tin shed structures housing commercial raw jute stocks.
Four firefighting units from the Bandar Fire Station responded promptly, tackling the flames and containing the fire within an hour. No casualties were reported in the Narayanganj incident. Store owners—including Anwar Hossain, Raja Miah, Sohel, Joynal, Imam Hossain, and Abu Bakkar—estimated that raw materials worth around Tk 50 lakh were completely reduced to ashes.
Bandar Fire Station Officer Sanjay Khan stated that an electrical short circuit is suspected to have ignited the warehouse fire. He added that the swift response of the fire brigade successfully saved neighboring properties and jute inventory valued at approximately Tk 1 crore from destruction. Formal investigations are under way to confirm the final financial loss and structural damage for both incidents.
