9 of 16 Bangladeshi workers killed in Riyadh fire identified, bodies brought home
Seven other victims of the 9 August factory fire remain unidentified; families of the nine identified victims will receive Tk3.35 lakh each.
Nine of the 16 Bangladeshi workers killed in a factory fire in Saudi Arabia's Riyadh on 9 August have been identified, and their bodies have been brought back to Bangladesh, according to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment.
The bodies arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight, BG-340, today (27 August), according to a press release from the ministry.
Seven of the nine identified victims were from Atrai upazila in Naogaon, including four from the same village and two siblings. The remaining two were from Naldanga upazila in Natore and Bagmara upazila in Rajshahi, the release said.
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Saudi authorities identified the nine victims through fingerprint tests, it added.
Expatriates' Welfare Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury and Foreign Affairs State Minister Shama Obaed Islam were present at the airport to receive the bodies.
Speaking to reporters at a briefing, Ariful Haque said the remaining seven workers could not be identified through fingerprint tests.
"DNA samples have been collected from their relatives under the supervision of the Criminal Investigation Department, and efforts are under way to bring their bodies back to Bangladesh as soon as possible," he said.
Each family of the nine identified victims will receive Tk3.35 lakh in financial assistance from the Wage Earners' Welfare Board and the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare, the minister said.
Of the amount, Tk35,000 will cover the cost of transporting and burying the body, while Tk3 lakh will be provided as a one-time grant, he added.
The ministry has also arranged ambulances to transport the bodies directly to their respective village homes, according to the release.
"No death is ever wanted. Our expatriate brothers go abroad, do difficult work and send money to their families," Shama Obaed said at the briefing.
She said officials at the Bangladesh embassy in Saudi Arabia were working to bring back the bodies of the seven workers whose identities have not yet been confirmed.
"Their DNA tests will be conducted. We have spoken to their families, and they will be brought back to the country as soon as possible," she added.
