Four Atrai workers killed in Saudi fire buried side by side

Four workers from Atrai upazila of Naogaon, who were killed in a fire at a sofa factory in Saudi Arabia, were buried side by side in their village cemetery on Friday.

Their bodies arrived in Bangladesh along with those of three other victims from Naogaon. A joint janaza was held at the field of Gondogohali Government Primary School at 3:00 PM before the four bodies were taken to the village cemetery.

Four graves had been dug side by side in advance. The graves of two brothers, Mohon Ali and Sumon Ali, were on one side, while those of fellow villagers Kolimuddin and Rubel Hossain were on the other.

All four had worked together at the sofa factory in Saudi Arabia. The sight of four bodies being brought back to the village at the same time left residents in tears.

“We have never seen so many bodies being buried together in our village in my 47 years of life. Saying goodbye to four people from the same village at once is deeply painful,” said Saidur Rahman, a resident of Gondogohali.

Another villager, Ismail Hossain, said residents had struggled to eat and sleep since learning about the incident.

Earlier, a joint janaza was held at Molla Azad Memorial College field in Atrai at 10:00 AM. The bodies were then handed over to the families, who took them to their respective villages.

On August 9, 16 Bangladeshis were killed in a fire at a sofa factory in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. After a lengthy identification process, the bodies of nine victims arrived in Bangladesh on Thursday. Seven of them were from Atrai upazila of Naogaon.

The victims from Atrai whose bodies were brought home were Farid, son of Moyeen Uddin of Udanpai village; Rubel Pramanik, son of Saidur Rahman; brothers Mohon Ali and Sumon Ali, sons of Guffar Pramanik; and Kolimuddin, son of Bazlur Rahman, all from Gondogohali village; Sohel Rana, son of Badal Tarafdar of Dubai village; and Abdul Jalil Sardar, son of Tamez Uddin Sardar of Parkasunda village.

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