9 Bangladeshis, 4 from Rajshahi, die in Saudi Arabia fire

Nine expatriate Bangladeshis, including four from Rajshahi, have died after fire broke out at a furniture workshop in the commercial area of Al-Hofuf city in Saudi Arabia.

They were identified as Rubel Hossain, Arif, Firoz Ali Sarder and Mohammad Sajedul Islam from Rajshahi, Mohammad Ubaidul from Natore, Ramjan and Barek Sarder from Naogaon, Jubayet Dhali from Madaripur and Saiful Islam from Savar.

Bangladesh's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dr Mohammad Zaved Patwari expressed deep condolences over the incident that took place at a furniture factory on Friday evening (14 July),

Apart from the Bangladeshis, an Indian citizen was also killed in the fire, leaving a total of 10 dead.

Bangladeshi workers Biplab Hossain and Md Jewel Hossain, who were rescued alive from the scene, told the embassy representative that 14 Bangladeshi workers were working in the factory under the management of an Indian citizen. 

They said the workers were sleeping on the upper floor of the factory after Friday prayers. Suddenly, they heard screams of fire from below. They found the entrance shrouded in darkness with black smoke whirling all around. 

Biplab and Jewel said they managed to emerge unscathed depending on the hypothesis. But other colleagues died of suffocation due to black smoke.

Three workers were not injured as they were outside the factory at the time of the incident. But the remaining nine workers died on the spot, according to Biplob and Jewel.

A team from the embassy is present at the spot and they are closely monitoring the situation, according to the embassy.

The ambassador said steps will be taken to send the bodies of the deceased home immediately after legal procedures are taken care of.