"I lost my nephew and we cannot find his dead body."

A man who seemed almost lost in the grounds of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), said this while bursting into tears.

He, along with three other family members were searching for the body of Najmul, a fourth-year student at Brac University around 10am this morning.

Najmul was last seen with three friends at the Kacchi Bhai restaurant in Bailey Road on Thursday night.

"Since last night, we have been moving from one hospital to another in search of Najmul's body. Unfortunately, no one has provided any information , and as of now, we still don't know where he is," said his uncle.

The morgue of DMCH witnessed the arrival of more grieving families, including that of Minhajul Islam, a missing software engineer.

Outside the morgue, Minhajul's mother, sister and family members were seen lost contemplating the reality of having lost a family member, and not being able to identify him.

Minhajul didn’t return home last night and couldn’t be reached by phone. Later, one of his friends informed the family that Minhajul went to Kacchi Bhai restaurant.

“There are some dead bodies in the morgue, some of which are completely burnt. However, we have identified a dead body by observing a distinctive mark on the belly and the matching watch he used to wear. But we are awaiting the DNA test results. The samples have been taken,” said one of his friends.

The severity of burns made visual identification nearly impossible for several bodies.

The DMCH authorities started collecting biometric samples to identify the bodies.

“We are taking biometrics from the dead bodies for identification, and in some cases, for security reasons too,” they said.

Dhaka District’s additional magistrate, AKM Hedayetul Islam, said, "After the DNA test of these samples, the identity will be confirmed, and the body will be handed over to the relatives," he added.