Joint janaza held for 7 Naogaon expats killed in Saudi factory fire

The joint janaza of seven expatriates from Atrai upazila in Naogaon, who died in a sofa factory fire in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was held today around 10:15am on the grounds of Molla Azad Memorial College.

Family members later buried the victims in their respective family graveyards.

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On Thursday afternoon around 4:00pm, the bodies of nine identified Bangladeshi victims arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport from Saudi Arabia. With administrative support, their remains reached Atrai around 1:30am today. Following their namaz-e-janaza, the bodies were handed over to families for burial in their villages.

Local lawmaker Sheikh Mohammad Rezaul Islam Rezu told journalists that assistance has been provided to the families through the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board, adding that government support will continue and efforts are underway to bring back the remaining bodies.

According to the embassy list, the deceased buried today were Md Farid, Rubel Pramanik, Mohan Ali, Suman Ali, Kalimuddin, Sohel Rana, and Abdul Jalil Sardar, all from Atrai upazila.

The janaza was attended by Sheikh Mohammad Rezaul Islam Rezu, Naogaon Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Saiful Islam, Additional Superintendent of Police Mohammad Monirul Islam, Atrai UNO Md Moniruzzaman, and local residents.

Earlier, on August 9, 16 Bangladeshi workers were killed in a devastating fire at the Riyadh sofa factory. Saudi authorities later confirmed the identities of nine victims through fingerprint verification.