Unclaimed bodies to be buried on Tuesday

Twenty nine unidentified bodies that were retrieved from the debris of collapsed Rana Plaza will be buried on Tuesday at Jurain graveyard. Their DNA samples have been collected.

The bodies were kept at the morgue of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) for identification.

Dhaka district Additional Magistrate Abul Fazal Mir told bdnews24.com that the unclaimed bodies were handed over to Anjuman-e-Mafidul Islam, a charitable Islamic welfare organisation, on Monday afternoon, five days after the country’s worst-ever industrial disaster.

Of the 29 unidentified people, 26 are women and three are men.

He said that DNA samples were collected from the bodies so that their identity can be confirmed through tests if anyone claims them later.

Lecturer of the Forensic Department at Dhaka Medical College (DMC) Sohel Mahmud told bdnews24.com that they collected the teeth of the victims as DNA samples to match the samples of any claimant.

Executive Director of the century-old charity Anjuman-e-Mufidul Islam Abul Kashem said that the last rites would be completed at the Jurain graveyard on Tuesday.

In November last year, bodies of 52 unclaimed workers, charred in a devastating fire at Tazreen Fashions in Ashulia, were also buried at Jurain graveyard in the capital after conducting their DNA tests.

Meanwhile, the death toll in Savar tragedy climbed to 381 even as rescuers comprising firefighters, untrained local volunteers and army men have started removing massive piles of rubbles with heavy machinery five days after the structure collapsed.

Most of the victims were garment workers. The building housed five readymade garment factories that employed nearly 5000 workers. Apart from that 300 shops were also based there.

There are some unclaimed bodies still lying at Sir Salimullah Medical College and Hospital mortuary.

After their recovery from the debris, the bodies were first taken to makeshift mortuary at local Adhar Chandra School playground for identification.

After identification the bodies were handed over to their relatives while the unclaimed bodies were sent to DMCH and Sir Salimullah Medical College.

Tuesday 30 April 2013

http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/04/29/unclaimed-bodies-to-be-buried-on-tuesday