As it is not clear whether 37-year-old Mehedhi Hasan Swapon is still alive or dead after over 24 hours of the massive blast in the capital’s Siddique Bazar that left 19 dead, uncertainty grips his family members including wife about having him back —alive or dead. However, the rescue operation at the explosion site has not ended yet as at least one man has remained missing, said Deputy Director of Fire Service and Civil Defense Dinmoni Sharma. Though two dead bodies were rescued in the afternoon, one is still missing, said the officer adding that the operation will be continued as long as we have one missing person. Abdul Mannan, maternal uncle of his wife who rushed to the spot from Chattogram on Tuesday night soon after hearing the news of the terrible blast, said that they are yet to know whether Swapon is alive or dead. “We want at least his body to be buried if he died in the blast,” he said. He used to work as a manager at Bangladesh Sanitary housing in a 5-storey building that was badly damaged in the massive blast in the capital’s Gulistan area. Swapon’s wife went to her maternal uncle’s house in Chattogram two days ago and is now apparently mute when she came to know about the blast, Mannan said. “I asked Swapon to come with his wife but he didn’t go due to job,” the uncle said, adding that his niece used to lead a happy life with Swapon since their marriage. “I came here to request the rescuers to hand over his body (Swapon) to them after recovering from the debris of the building once he died,” said the uncle. Earlier, a massive explosion occurred on Tuesday with a big bang at Siddique Bazar. A total of 19 people died in the explosion. A sanitary materials shop on the ground floor of the building, Brac Bank office on one of the other floors and an adjacent 7-storey building were damaged because of the impact of the blast.

Among the family members and friends waiting in front of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s emergency room a father was wailing on Wednesday. He lost his only son to an explosion that ripped through a commercial building in the capital’s Gulistan area on Tuesday. “Where is my son? I have only one son. Where did my son go?” the father was heard crying in front of the DMCH emergency room. Later, he was taken away by his family members from there before the child's body could be taken out of the emergency room. Meanwhile, a short description was hung on the right wall inside the emergency room, along with a list of patients injured in the Siddique Bazar explosion. According to the list, injured patients have been kept in ward numbers 100, 102, 103, 204, and the ICU, as well as in some other departments of the hospital. Read more: Siddique Bazar blast: 2 bodies retrieved from debris, death toll now 19 Multiple injured people were seen inside ward number 100.  Speaking to the Ansar members on duty and the relatives of the injured, it was learned that they were rescued from the rubble of the building that was damaged largely due to the explosion in Siddique Bazar. While speaking to UNB’s Dhaka University Correspondent, Rubel, a victim of the explosion who was an employee of a shop in Siddique Bazar said the shop had four employees apart from him. Among them, Mainuddin was killed on the spot during the explosion. Raju, one of the employees, was kept in the ICU of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Arman Hossain, the manager of the shop, was taken from DMCH to Azghar Ali Hospital. Meanwhile, Sunny, one of Rubel’s coworkers, was kept in ward no. 101 of the hospital. At the entrance of the ward, UNB correspondent talked to another person named Sumon Ali. He was staying with his brother at the hospital. Sumon said his brother was working as a driver of a goods delivery van at one of the shops that collapsed. Read more: Blast in Sidddique Bazar not from gas leakage: Titas Gas His brother was there when the explosion occurred. He was rescued last night and brought to the hospital. Although his brother's physical condition is out of danger, he said that the backbone has moved quite a lot from the specified position. A man named Ratan Mia was seen standing with a photo of his missing son, Abdul Malek (17), who used to work at a brick kiln in Savar’s Hemayetpur. He always used this route to travel to and from Hemayetpur. Malek has remained missing since the explosion occurred yesterday. “Everyone asked me to look for him at the DMCH. But I couldn’t find him yet,” Ratan told UNB. “He doesn’t have any mobile phones. I’ve tried calling my relatives. No one knows his whereabouts,” he said, bursting into tears. Mohammad Rifat, a young boy, was standing next to Ratan Mia. He just passed Alim (HSC) from Tamirul Millat Madrasa in the capital. Rifat came to the hospital after burying his father a while ago to receive financial assistance for the victims announced by the government. Read more: Reason behind Gulistan blast to be known after examining samples: Rab director His father was rescued from the rubble and taken home last night. But after some time, he was asked to bring his father's body to DMCH. The body was brought to DMCH and handed over to them within a short time. His father was then taken home and buried there. Rifat said: "My father was the only earning member of my family. I have my mother and a younger brother at home.” “I always wanted to study. But now I don’t know what to do next! I don't know what will happen to my younger brother!" he told UNB. Earlier, at least 19 people were killed and over 100 others injured in a massive explosion in a 5-storey building near a BRTC bus counter at Siddique Bazar in Gulistan area of the capital. Among the injured, 11 people have been undergoing treatment at the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Read more: Sidddique Bazar blast: Shop owner ‘picked up by DB police’ Meanwhile, the government has announced financial assistance of Tk 50,000 each to the families of those killed in the explosion. Relatives are receiving financial assistance from a  temporary tent set out by the district administration in front of the emergency gate of Dhaka Medical College Hospital by showing the death certificate of the deceased.