Published : 15 Jul 2023, 05:20 PM
Updated : 15 Jul 2023, 07:48 PM
Nine Bangladeshi migrants have been killed in a devastating fire that broke out at a furniture factory in Saudi Arabia’s Al Hofuf.
An Indian migrant also died in the incident that occurred in the city’s industrial area around 4 pm local time on Friday, the foreign ministry said, citing a statement issued by the Bangladesh mission in Riyadh.
The Bangladeshi victims have been identified as Md Rubail Hossain, Md Sazedul Islam, Arif and Md Firoz Ali Sarder from Rajshahi, Ramzan and Barek Sarder from Naogaon, Md Ubaidul from Natore, Md Zubayet Dhali from Madaripur and Saiful Islam from Savar, according to the ministry.
“As many as 14 Bangladeshi expatriates were employed to the sofa factory operated by an Indian migrant,” the Bangladesh mission said, citing Biplob Hossain and Md Juwel Hossain, who survived the fire.
“The workers were asleep in the accommodation built above the factory after having lunch after the Jummah prayer. Biplob and Juwel stepped outside after hearing screams on the ground. The factory was engulfed in smoke at that time.”
The other Bangladeshi migrants working for the factory died after being suffocated due to smoke caused by the fire.
The bodies of the Bangladeshi migrants have been kept at the King Fahad Hospital morgue in Al Hofuf. The injured are receiving treatment at the same hospital.
Ambassador Mohammad Javed Patwary instructed the labour welfare wing of the mission to take prompt measures to fly the Bangladeshi migrants’ bodies back to the country.
