Corpses of nine victims of Saudi fire to arrive on Thursday

The corpses of nine victims of a fire at a Saudi Arabian factory would arrive in Dhaka on Thursday, said the Bangladesh Embassy in the Middle East country.

At least 16 Bangladeshi expatriates were killed in the devastating fire at a sofa factory in the Musa Industrial Area under the Al-Shifa police station in Riyadh on 9 August.

Using fingerprint scans, the Saudi authorities have confirmed the identities of nine victims, seven of them from Naogaon’s Atrai upazila.

The bodies are expected to arrive on a Biman Bangladesh BG-340 flight at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 4pm on Thursday.

Ariful Haque Chowhdury, minister for expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment, will be present at the airport to collect the bodies, said the ministry’s Public Relations Officer Shariful Islam on Wednesday.

The bodies are of Farid, Md Rubel Pramanik, Md Kalimuddin, Md Mohon, Md Sumon, Abdul Jalil, and Sohel from Naogaon's Atrai. The identities and destination districts of two other returning bodies could not be confirmed.

In total, 13 victims belong to Naogaon district. Two other victims – Shamim and Sabbir – were from Natore, and one named Shyamol was from Rajshahi.