6 Bangladeshis killed in South Africa fire

  
A devastating fire tore through a shop in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province early Tuesday, killing six Bangladeshi nationals�"most of them close relatives�"and leaving another critically injured, plunging families in Bangladesh into grief.

The blaze broke out at around 3:00am local time in Tsomo town, near Queenstown, trapping the victims inside before they could escape, according to local sources.

Fahim's cousin, Al-Amin, said Fahim had been supervising workers at the supershop.  Among the victims was 28-year-old Fahim, who had spent the last decade working at the shop in Queenstown in South Africa's eastern region. He had been planning to return home later this year after completing the necessary paperwork. Fahim, from the village under Alirtek union in Narayanganj Sadar upazila, was one of six people killed in the blaze. Three of the victims were from the same village Rowshon Ali, a member of Alirtek Union Parishad in Narayanganj Sadar upazila, said three of the victims were from his union, another was from neighbouring Baktaboli Union, while the sixth hailed from the Rikabibazar area of Munshiganj. "All of them were relatives. We are deeply saddened by the news," Rowshon said over the phone, adding that the victims' identities were still being formally confirmed.

The fire also killed Faisal, 26, from Toilkhirarchar village; Shahin, 26, from Kanainagar village in neighbouring Baktaboli union; and Razik, 55, from Kalindipara in Munshiganj.

Back home, the tragedy has left relatives anxiously awaiting official confirmation as news of the deaths spread through their communities.
Narayanganj Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) SM Foyez Uddin said the local administration had not yet received any formal communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"We have not received any official confirmation yet, nor have the victims' family members contacted us. We are trying to verify the information," he said.

The Bangladesh High Commission in Pretoria expressed profound shock and sorrow over the loss of six Bangladeshi lives and conveyed its deepest condolences to the bereaved families. It also wished a speedy recovery to the injured Bangladeshi national.