The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police has started collecting DNA samples of the relatives of the victims of the devastating fire at BM Container Depot in Chittagong.

A forensic team led by Chittagong CID Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Jahangir Alam set up a booth in front of the Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) on Monday to cross-match DNA samples of unidentified victims of the Sitakunda fire.

Long queues of relatives of the victims formed in front of the booth to identify their loved ones in the early morning.

Chittagong CID Special Superintendent of Police Shahnewaz Khan said 13 DNA samples have been collected since morning. 

He said the samples they're collecting would take 2-3 days for DNA profiling. However, it would take at least a month to collect and analyze the DNA samples from the unidentified dead bodies.

At least 49 people have been killed so far and over 450 injured in the fire caused by the explosion at BM Container Depot in Chittagong late on Saturday night.

A total of 22  bodies have been handed over to families till now. According to CMCH authorities, at least 16 unidentified charred bodies are lying at the morgue of the hospital.

Firefighters managed to bring the massive fire under control after 25 hours on Sunday night.