Chittagong city resident Mohammad Abul Kashem Sufi had long cherished a desire to perform the Hajj.
But before he could complete the rites of the pilgrimage, he and 106 others were killed on September 11 when a crane collapsed in the Grand Mosque complex in Mecca that houses the Kaaba.
Another 40 Bangladeshis were injured in the accident. Thirty-nine have since been released from hospital.
Nizam Uddin of Chanddnaish in Chittagong is still undergoing treatment at a hospital in Mecca.
Kashem, 45, a follower of the local Kanchanabad Sufi Darbar Sharif shrine in Chittagong district’s Chandanaish upazila, was not able to make the trip in previous years because of family and professional obligations. This year, the contractor was finally able to arrange to perform the pilgrimage.
The son of late Mohammad Anu Miah, Kashem left Bangladesh on September 5 for the Hajj which is scheduled to begin on September 22.
First Secretary (Labour Wing) Mohammed Altaf Hossain of the Consulate General of Bangladesh in Jeddah yesterday confirmed the news of Kashem’s death to the Dhaka Tribune.
Quoting Kashem’s uncle, Abu Syed, an expatriate living in Saudi Arabia, and the victim’s Hajj agency DBH International, the official said the victim had been missing since the accident.
The consular official confirmed that the Bangladeshi national had been killed in the crane collapse after his relative identified the remains at the al-Moaisim mortuary in the holy city.
Kashem, originally from Elahabad in Chandanaish upazila’s Kanchanabad union, was a resident of Chittagong city’s Motijharna area where he lived with his family.
His wife, Rubi Akhter, and their three children – a son in class eight and two daughters, in class seven and class two – were in a state of shock since hearing the news, relatives said.
“Rubi fainted repeatedly and has become like stone, while the three children will not talk to anyone,” said Rafiqul Islam, the victim’s brother-in-law.
Kashem’s mother, an elderly woman, was speechless with grief after losing the eldest son of seven sons and a daughter.
“My father passed away some years ago. Now the death of our eldest brother has broken our hearts,” said Kashem’s youngest brother Mohammad Selim.
“We lost our umbrella,” he said, using a symbol for the protective cover the head of the household provides, his voice choked with tears.
“He was the lone earning member of his family but his family’s financial condition is good,” Kanchanabad Union Parishad Chairman Abdul Shukkur said.
Some 107 people were killed and more than 238 injured when a crane collapsed in the Grand Mosque complex in Mecca on Friday evening. A total of 101,758 Bangladeshi pilgrims are scheduled to perform the Hajj this year.