The last supper: All five of a family die

Tragedy often reduces lives to mere statistics, a tally of those lost. But behind these numbers lie shattered dreams, stories of families torn apart, and a community in mourning. The 46 persons who died in the Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall fire were not just names on a list, but lively individuals -- students with aspirations, a teacher nurturing young minds, families reuniting over dinner -- and most importantly people looking forward to the future with hopes and dreams on a leap day. These are not just numbers; they are mothers, sons, daughters, students, and friends. Below are the stories of loss, sufferings and survival through the eyes of our correspondents.

Only 18 days separated Syed Mobarak Hossain from his dream of taking his family to Italy, where he worked. After years of struggle as a Bangladeshi expatriate, everything was finally falling into place: his wife and children were set to join him in Europe. With visas secured and excitement brewing, the family decided to celebrate their reunion with a festive meal -- kacchi biryani.

But a devastating fire at the restaurant killed all of them. His wife Shopna Akhter,  two daughters Fatema Tuz Zohra Kashpia, 19, Amena Akhter Nur, 13, and eight-year-old son Syed Abdullah all died alongside him.

Syed Riad, Mobarak's cousin, narrated the story while talking to this newspaper at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

According to Riad, Mobarak, had a restaurant business in Italy, and his family used to live in the capital's Modhubag area. "Mobarak Bhai came to Bangladesh in January to take the whole family to Italy, hoping to give them a better life. But see? It wasn't to be fulfilled. All is gone now," he said.

JOURNO AMONG VICTIMS

Abhishruti Sharsti, a staff correspondent at The Report.live, is among the 46 victims of the fire at the building.

Her colleagues and friends identified the body at 12:30pm at the Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, said Golam Rabbani, chief reporter of Thereport.live.

"We learned that she was at a restaurant in the building with her friend. Her phone has been switched off since last night, and we couldn't trace her," he said.

The authorities at the burn institute informed that a body belonging to a female was at their morgue. "We rushed to the spot and identified her by seeing different bracelets on her hands," Rabbi said.

Efforts to reach Abhishruti's family have been unsuccessful, as the only contact number we have for them is switched off, he noted.

Abhishruti was a philosophy department student at Eden Mohila College.

"We are attempting to contact the college authorities to facilitate communication with her family," Rabbani said.