‘No way out, pray our deaths are not painful.’- Engaged sister’s last words to brother
Publish | 16 Jun 2017, 14:18
Family members of five expatriate Bangladeshis who remain missing since the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower in west London are demanding information from the authorities on their loved ones' whereabouts.
Mindful of the overwhelming likelihood that they have perished in the fire that tore through the 24-floor tower block in Kensington in the early hours of Wednesday, the family members want assurances that the bodies will be returned home and handed over to them for burial.
Our Moulvibazar correspondent visited the village home of expatriate Kamruddin, also known as Kamru Miah, where he was met by Kamru's first wife and three sons from the marriage, on Thursday.
They said just a year or so ago, Kamru, 90, had moved into two apartments on the 17th and 18th floors of Grenfell Tower with his second wife Rabeya Begum, and three children from that marriage: sons Abdul Hamid, 32, and Abdul Hanif, 25; and daughter Husna Akter Tanima, 22.
Their eldest son Abdul Hakim, 35, lived separately with his wife in another apartment block not far away.
Kamru Mia's first wife Julekha Bibi, 75, and the couple's two daughters Josna Begum, 60 and Mina Begum, 52 and son Sujon Mia, 50, are in touch with Hakim, but information has been hard to come by.
The authorities in London have announced just 17 deaths so far, cautioning that the figure will keep rising as deaths are confirmed with bodies found and identified.
Through Hakim, the family in Moulvibazar learned of the last conversation he had with anyone trapped inside. It was 2.30 in the morning on Wednesday, some 90 minutes after the fire was first reported.
It was with Tanima, who was set to get married in July.
She said, "We are all now confined to the bathroom. There is no way out for us. Please pray that our deaths are not so painful. If you can, save us."
That was the last Hakim heard from them.
The family in Moulvibazar are requesting the government to take initiatives to know their fate quickly.
Source: unb