Police and relatives are struggling to identify the four people who died in the Benapole Express train fire on Friday night as their bodies were charred beyond recognition.

Police say they will conduct DNA tests on the remains to identify the victims before handing those over to the relatives for last rites.

“The bodies of the four victims have been kept at Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s morgue,” said Railway Police Sub-Inspector Setafur Rahman.

“The bodies were so badly burnt that identifying them by sight became impossible. The victims’ DNA samples will be tested to confirm their identities.”

The relatives of the four missing train passengers gathered outside the DMCH morgue early on Saturday but could not identify their loved ones after sighting the bodies.

“A list has been made with the names received from the victims’ relatives. We will match the DNA samples of the relatives with those of the victims and take further steps following the results,” Setafur said.

The Benapole Express train stopped near the Gopibagh kitchen market around 9pm on Friday after the fire spread to several coaches. At least four people were killed in the fire.

Eight people with injuries were admitted to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Doctors said they were still in danger.

Among the four whose relatives have come to look for the bodies, Abu Talha is a mechanical engineering student at Bangladesh Army University of Science and Technology (BAUST) in Nilphamari's Syedpur.

The rest are – Natasha Jasmine Nekie, 25, Elina Yasmin, whose age could not be known, and Chandrima Chowdhury Soumi, 28.

Talha was travelling to Dhaka from Faridpur to reach his destination by another train to Syedpur. His father, Abdul Haque, spoke to him for the last time two hours before the grisly attack. But he has been getting his son’s phone switched off since then.

Elina boarded the train with five other members of her family. The five managed to escape the fire but Elina got trapped inside the coach. The victim's sister, lawyer Jahida Sultana, rushed to the DMCH morgue to search for her sister after the incident.

Elina’s brother, Md Imtiaz, is also searching for her at different hospitals in Dhaka.

Natasha, a resident of Dhaka’s Narinda, went to visit a relative in Faridpur’s Bhanga together with her husband Asif Mohammad Khan. The couple met the tragedy during their return. Asif has been receiving treatment at the burns institute.

Chandrima’s brother, Dibakar Chowdhury, is also looking for his sister. They live in Dhaka’s Indira Road.