5 Saudi fire victims return Saturday

The bodies of five more Naogaon workers killed in a fire at a sofa factory in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will arrive in Dhaka on Saturday (October 31), nearly three months after the tragedy.

The Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh announced the arrival in a notice issued on Thursday (October 29) and signed by Counsellor Mohammad Rezae Rabbi. According to the notice, the bodies will land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 8:05am on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight, BG-336.

The embassy said the fire on August 9 claimed the lives of 16 Bangladeshi workers. The bodies of nine were sent home on August 27, in the first batch. The identities of the remaining seven have since been confirmed through DNA tests, and the paperwork for sending their bodies home has been completed.

The five victims from Naogaon are Shahin of Par Naogaon in Naogaon Sadar upazila; Hasibul Hasan Shuvo of Dubai village, Atrai; Minhaj Pramanik of Madhyaboalia village, Atrai; Masidul Sardar Sajib of Madhabpur village, Atrai; and Sagar Ali of Sadhanagar village, Atrai.

Atrai Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Moniruzzaman said the local administration has stayed in regular contact with the bereaved families. He added that it is working with the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board to bring the bodies home quickly.

The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment has confirmed the deaths of 11 people from Atrai and one from Naogaon Sadar in the fire. On August 27, the bodies of seven of the Atrai victims were brought home. Once these five bodies arrive, all the Naogaon victims’ bodies will be back in the country and their families’ long wait will be over.