Saudi Arabia Factory Fire Kills 16 Bangladeshis in Riyadh

At least 16 Bangladeshi nationals were killed in a fire at a sofa factory in Riyadh’s Musa Industrial Area on Sunday afternoon, according to Bangladesh’s Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment. The ministry said 10 of the victims were from Naogaon district.

A ministry statement issued early Monday said the fire broke out at around 2pm local time on Sunday at the factory in the Musa Industrial Area under Riyadh’s Al-Shifa police station jurisdiction. Quoting firefighters working at the scene, the statement said 16 people died on the spot.

A ministry statement citing eyewitnesses said all those killed were Bangladeshi nationals. Rescue operations were still under way by local fire service personnel when the statement was issued at about 1:30am Bangladesh time on Monday night.

The Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh expressed deep sorrow over the incident.

Quoting Rezae Rabby, counsellor at the embassy’s Labour Welfare Wing, the ministry said embassy officials were present at the scene and were maintaining close contact with the Saudi authorities to identify the dead.

Hours earlier, in a separate press release, Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury had said seven Bangladeshi workers from Atrai upazila in Naogaon were killed in the fire.

Earlier, Naogaon Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Saiful Islam said 10 people from the district had been killed in the accident. The dead were identified as Koli, 30, Lutfar, 32, Jandar, Rubel, Sagar of Bisha area, Majidul, Shuvo of Dubai area, Sumon, Jalal of Parkasunda village, and Md Farid Sheikh of Udonpai village. All were from Kalikapur union of Atrai upazila, except where specific localities were mentioned in the statement.

The fire is reported to have started at around 3:30pm Bangladesh time on Sunday at the factory in Khordam city, Riyadh, before spreading rapidly. The victims had been working at the sofa manufacturing factory in Saudi Arabia to earn a living. Many families are still waiting for confirmation of their relatives’ identities.

Muhammad Saiful Islam said deaths of 10 people from Atrai upazila in Naogaon had so far been confirmed.