Bodies of 7 more Saudi fire victims returning to Bangladesh Saturday

The bodies of the remaining seven of 16 Bangladeshi workers killed in a fire at a sofa factory in Saudi Arabia's Riyadh are being brought home.

They are due to arrive at Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport at 8:05am on Saturday on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight (BG-336), the expatriates’ welfare ministry said on Friday, citing the foreign ministry and the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh.

The blaze broke out on Aug 9 and killed 16 Bangladeshi workers at the spot. The bodies of nine were sent home in a first batch on Aug 27.

The other seven were too badly charred to be identified immediately, and DNA tests later confirmed their identities.

The embassy said all flights from Riyadh have been suspended since Oct 10, so the bodies were first taken by road to Jeddah.

From there they are being flown to Dhaka via King Abdulaziz International Airport on a Biman flight.

The seven are Md Shahin of Naogaon Sadar; Md Hasibul Hasan Shuvo, Minhaj Pramanik, Md Masidul Sardar Sajib and Md Sagor Ali of Atrai; and Mohammad Shamim and Md Sabbir Hossain of Natore’s Naldanga.

The bodies will be handed to relatives and representatives after reaching the airport, the ministry said.