She didn’t know it was his last call
Like every week, after Juma prayers, Mohammad Obaidul made a video call to his mother Rahela Begum in Bangladesh from Al Hofuf, about 350 kilometres from the Saudi capital Riyadh. Little did she know that that would be the last time she would be speaking to her son.
Obaidul was killed -- along with eight other Bangladeshis and one Indian citizen -- later that day in a devastating fire at the furniture factory where he worked.
"My son wanted to return to the country and get married in a few months. All those dreams are now shattered," said Rahela yesterday, holding a picture of her son.
Youngest among 11 siblings, Obidaul, 34, from Chandpur village of Natore's Naldanga upazila, went to Saudi Arabia in 2019 to bring solvency to his family.
He worked in a Saudi company before shifting to the furniture factory a few months later.
One of his cousins Yadul, who is working in a factory in Dammam, informed the family of the fire at Obaidul's factory. The family tried to communicate with Obaidul all night but they could not get through. Yadul informed them of Obaidul's death early yesterday.
The other deceased are Md Rubel Hossain, Mohammad Sajedul Islam, Arif and Md Firoz Ali Sardar from Rajshahi; Ramjan and Barek Sardar from Naogaon; Md Zubayet Dhali from Madaripur; and Saiful Islam of Dhaka, according to a press release of the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh.
The fire occurred at the factory on Friday at around 4:00pm local time, according to Fakhrul Islam, the first secretary of the Bangladesh embassy's press wing. "The cause of the fire could not be known immediately."
Bangladeshi workers Biplab Hossain and Md Jewel Hossain were rescued from the scene and admitted to the burn unit of King Fahd Hospital, the official said, adding that the bodies were kept at the hospital morgue.
Biplab and Jewel told the embassy representative that 14 Bangladeshi workers were working in the factory under the management of an Indian citizen.
The workers were sleeping in the upper accommodation of the factory following lunch after Friday prayers.
They suddenly heard screams "fire, fire" from below and they both tried to get down by the stairs.
The entrance was shrouded in darkness with black smoke. They somehow managed to get out of danger, according to the press release.
But their other colleagues died of suffocation. Three workers were not injured as they were outside the factory at the time of the incident, the release added.
The Bangladesh embassy in Riyadh said that they were closely monitoring the situation and a team from the embassy was present at the spot.
Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mohammad Javed Patwary expressed deep shock over the incident.
Steps will be taken to send the bodies back to Bangladesh immediately after all legal procedures.
[Our Natore correspondent also contributed to the report.]
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