Factory fire kills 6 Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia

At least six Bangladeshi migrants were killed in a factory fire at the Saudi Arabian city of Madinah on Wednesday night.

Identities of five of them are Mizanur Rahman and Md Arafat Hossain Manik -- both from Lohagara in Chattogram, and Ishak Mia, Abdul Aziz, and Md Rafiq Uddin -- from Maheshkhali in Cox's Bazar.

The Bangladesh Embassy in Saudi Arabia yesterday said in a statement that the consulate in Jeddah is trying to learn the identity of the sixth victim.

The statement further said a total of seven foreign workers, including six Bangladeshis, were killed in the fire at a sofa factory near Heraz Market, which is 25 kilometers from Madinah city. The Saudi fire department could not yet confirm the origin of the fire.

The bodies were kept at the morgue of King Fahad Hospital in Madinah.

The Bangladesh Consulate in Jeddah is trying to repatriate the bodies and realise the compensation.

Mohammad Javed Patwary, Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, expressed deep condolence at the deaths of the Bangladeshi migrants.

"We will give our highest efforts to realise the compensation," he said in the statement.

Patwary has instructed the Bangladesh Labour Counsellor at the consulate in Jeddah to collect details of the incident, and contact the local police, administration and hospital authorities so that the bodies can be repatriated at the soonest.