The bodies of seven Bangladeshi workers from Naogaon who were killed in a fire at a sofa manufacturing factory in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh have arrived in Bangladesh.
The bodies reached Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Thursday afternoon and were later taken to Atrai upazila in Naogaon by freezing ambulances, according to local administration officials.
The bodies are expected to reach Atrai around midnight, said Atrai Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mohammad Moniruzzaman.
The seven deceased were identified as Md Farid, son of Moyeen Uddin of Udanpoy village; Rubel Pramanik, son of Saidur Rahman; Mohon Ali, Suman Ali and Kalimuddin, sons of Guffar Pramanik and Bazlur Rahman respectively, all from Gandogohali village; Sohel Rana, son of Badal Torafdar of Dubai village; and Abdul Jalil Sardar, son of Tamez Uddin Sardar of Markusunda village in Atrai.
The bodies were repatriated after Saudi authorities identified nine of the deceased Bangladeshi workers through fingerprint verification, according to a notice issued earlier by the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh.
A fire at a sofa manufacturing factory in Riyadh killed 16 Bangladeshi workers, the embassy said.
The authorities have completed the necessary formalities to send the identified bodies to Bangladesh. The bodies were brought on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight.
UNO Moniruzzaman said the administration has remained in constant contact with the families of the deceased and coordinated the arrangements for transporting the bodies from Dhaka to Atrai free of cost.
Citing the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, he said initial reports indicated that 13 people from Atrai had died in the fire. The identities of 11 victims from Atrai and one from Naogaon Sadar have since been confirmed, while efforts are underway to repatriate the remaining bodies.
The seven bodies will be kept together for a janaza at the Molla Azad Memorial College field in Atrai upazila headquarters at 10am on Friday, the UNO said.
After the janaza, the bodies will be handed over to their respective families.
Atrai-Raninagar MP Sheikh Md Rezaul Islam, Naogaon Deputy Commissioner Md Saiful Islam, Police Superintendent Md Tarikul Islam, the UNO and family members of the deceased, among others, are expected to attend the janaza, according to the upazila administration.