3 Bangladesh workers die in Bahrain fire

Three Bangladeshi workers died and two others received minor injuries by smoke inhalation on early Friday after a fire broke out in a residential building in Manama, the capital of Bahrain.

Among the victims two were identified as Mosharraf Hossain, son of Nazir Ahmed and Abu Jalal, Mohidul Islam, first secretary (labour) of Bangladesh embassy in Manama told The Daily Star.

The identity of another deceased could not be known immediately, the official said.

The incident took place around 3:30 am today at a two-storey building in the country’s Makharqa area which housed around 60 Bangladeshis, said a press statement to the foreign ministry issued by Bangladesh embassy in Manama.  

It mentioned that the victims had died of suffocation and there had been no sign of burn or injury on the bodies. The injured Bangladeshis left the hospital after receiving treatment.

Bahrain Interior Ministry said in a statement that the fire had been caused by safety negligence, in which the first floor of the building was gutted. It has ordered an investigation to find out reasons.

Ambassador Ali Akbar, and counsellor Mehedi Hasan visited the building and the Salmanya Medical Center, Manama and checked the dead bodies in the mortuary.

Earlier, 13 Bangladeshis were killed in a fire that was the Bahrain's second deadliest tragedy to strike a labour accommodation since 2006 when 16 workers were killed in a fire at the Gudhaibiya neighbourhood in Manama.

On May 27, 2012, at least 10 Bangladeshi workers died in a fire at a building in East Riffa.

Local media reported that many unskilled workers from Asian countries, mostly from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, often end up being crammed into buildings that were not designed to accommodate a large number of people.

Currently, more than 200,000 Bangladeshis are working in Gulf country.