Naogaon Correspondent:

Out of the 16 Bangladeshis killed in a fire at a sofa factory in Manfua area of ​​Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, 13 are from Naogaon district. Of the deceased, 12 are residents of Atrai and one is a resident of Naogaon Sadar Upazila, Mohammad Saiful Islam, Deputy Commissioner (DC) in Naogaon confirmed the matter to the journalists.

The deceased are Sagar, 38, of Sadnagar village in Atrai upazila, Majidul, 34, and Abdul Jalil, 48, of Kharsrota village, Farid Sheikh, 32, of Ujanpoi village, Sumon, 31, and Hasibul Hasan Shuvo, 37, of Dubai village, Mohan Pramanik, 22, and his younger brother Sumon Pramanik, 16, of Gandagohali village in Kalikapur union, Rubel Pramanik, 30, of the same village, Kalimullah Pramanik, 35, Hridoy, 32, of Boala village, Minhaj, 30, of Madhya Boalia village and Shahin, 38, of Par-Naogaon area of ​​Naogaon municipality in Naogaon Sadar upazila.

According to relatives of the deceased, local residents and local administration sources, several workers from Atrai and Sadar upazilas of Naogaon, Naldanga of Natore and Bagmara upazilas of Rajshahi worked in a sofa-making factory in the Manfua area of ​​Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The factory caught fire at around 12:30 pm local time on Sunday. Some 16 Bangladeshis trapped in the factory died in the fire. Of these, 13 are from Atrai and Sadar upazilas of Naogaon. The remaining two are from Naldanga upazila of Natore and one is from Bagmara upazila in Rajshahi.

Citing other Bangladeshi expatriates in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Farid Sheikh’s cousin Zahidul Islam said that, all the workers in the factory were asleep at the time of the fire. The main gate of the factory was locked from outside. The fire broke out in the factory while he was sleeping, killing all the workers there, including Farid Sheikh. The workers in the factory sleep during the day and work in the factory at night.

Naogaon Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Saiful Islam said that the Bangladesh Embassy in Saudi Arabia’s labor welfare wing is working to identify the deceased and bring their bodies back home. The government and local administration are continuing to ensure that the bodies are brought home quickly after completing the appropriate procedures.