Nine Bangladeshi fire victims’ bodies arrive from Saudi Arabia

The bodies of nine Bangladeshi migrant workers killed in a fire in Saudi Arabia have arrived in capital on Thursday.

A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight, BG-430, carrying the bodies landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka today, according to officials.

The nine workers were among 16 Bangladeshis killed in a deadly fire at a sofa factory in Riyadh on 9 August.

Saudi authorities identified the nine victims through fingerprint tests. The remaining seven bodies are yet to be identified as DNA tests are still under way.

Seven of the nine identified victims were from Atrai upazila in Naogaon, while the other two were from Naldanga in Natore and Bagmara in Rajshahi.

The victims from Atrai were identified as Md Farid of Udanpoy village, Rubel Pramanik, Kolimuddin Islam, Mohan Ali and his younger brother Suman Ali of Gondogohali, Sohel Rana of Dubai village and Abdul Jalil Sarker of Parkasunda. The other two victims were identified as Rabiul Islam of Mahishdanga village in Naldanga and Shyamal Uddin of Morugram in Bagmara.

Family members had been waiting to receive the bodies and take them back to their respective villages for burial.

Atrai Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Moniruzzaman said the local administration had arranged ambulances to transport the bodies to the families free of charge.

He said the families of the seven victims from Atrai had been informed and preparations had been made to hand over the bodies after completion of the necessary legal procedures.

The administration had initially received information that 13 people from Atrai were among those killed in the fire. The identities of 11 people from Atrai and one from Naogaon Sadar have since been confirmed, officials said.
The family members of the unidentified victims are still waiting for confirmation.

The mother of Minhaz, one of the victims whose identity has not yet been confirmed, had earlier appealed to the government to bring her son’s body home as soon as possible so that she could see him one last time.

Bangladesh’s embassy in Saudi Arabia said the remaining seven victims would be brought home after their identities are confirmed through DNA testing.