Bodies of seven Bangladeshis killed in Saudi Arabia brought home

The bodies of the remaining seven of the 16 Bangladeshi workers killed in a devastating fire at a sofa factory in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, have been brought home.

The bodies arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 8:21am on Saturday (31 October) on a special Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight, BG-336.

On 9 August, a devastating fire broke out at a sofa factory in the Manfuha area of Riyadh, killing 16 Bangladeshi workers on the spot.

The bodies of nine of the victims were brought home in the first phase on 27 August after their identities were confirmed through fingerprints.

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However, the remaining seven bodies were so badly burned that they could not be identified immediately. Their identities were later confirmed through DNA testing following a lengthy process.

All flights from Riyadh have reportedly remained temporarily suspended since 10 October. Due to the suspension, the Bangladesh Embassy made special arrangements to transport the bodies by road from Riyadh to Jeddah. They were then flown to Dhaka from King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.

The seven victims include Shahin of Par Naogaon village in Naogaon Sadar upazila; Hasibul Hasan of Dubai village, Minhaj Pramanik of Madhya Boalia village, Masidul Sardar of Madhabpur village and Sagar Ali of Shahanagar village in Atrai upazila of Naogaon.

The other two victims are Mohammad Shamim of Dighirpara village and Sharif Hossain of Khajura village in Lalpur upazila of Natore.

Relatives received the bodies at the airport and made preparations to take them to their respective village homes for burial.

Atrai Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Moniruzzaman said the administration was maintaining contact with the victims’ families and would provide necessary assistance with the burial process.