Funeral held for seven Naogaon workers killed in Saudi factory fire

The funerals of seven Bangladeshi workers from Naogaon who were killed in a fire at a sofa manufacturing factory in Saudi Arabia were held together in Atrai on Friday (August 28), following the repatriation of their bodies.

The bodies were handed over to their relatives after the funeral, and the families then left for their respective villages.

The joint funeral prayer was held at around 10:15am at the Molla Azad Memorial College ground in Atrai upazila.

The bodies of nine Bangladeshi workers whose identities had been confirmed in the incident arrived in Dhaka at around 4pm on Thursday. Seven of them were from Atrai, and their bodies were transported to the upazila with administrative assistance, reaching there around 1:30am Friday.

Local residents and officials, including Naogaon-6 MP Sheikh Mohammad Rezaul Islam Rezu, Naogaon Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Saiful Islam, Additional Superintendent of Police Mohammad Monirul Islam, Atrai Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Moniruzzaman and Atrai police station officer-in-charge Mahbub Alam, attended the funeral.

Rezu said the families had received assistance from the Wage Earners' Welfare Board and would continue to receive government support. He added that efforts were underway to repatriate the remaining bodies.

The seven victims from Atrai were identified as Md Farid, son of Moyeen Uddin of Udanpai village; Rubel Pramanik, son of Saidur Rahman; Mohan Ali, Suman Ali and Kolimuddin, all from Gondogohali village; Sohel Rana, son of Badal Torofdar of Dubai village; and Abdul Jalil Sardar, son of Tamez Uddin Sardar of Parkasunda village.

They were among 16 Bangladeshi workers killed in the fire at the sofa factory in Riyadh. Saudi authorities later confirmed the identities of nine victims through fingerprint verification.