Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Khondaker Showkat Hossain has said the bodies of 13 Bangladesh migrant workers, who were recently killed in war-torn Libya, will not be brought back home since airports in the country are closed.
“Both the airports at Tripoli and Benghazi are now closed, and it is not possible to bring back the dead bodies,” he said while talking to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. He also noted that it was difficult to preserve the dead bodies in such conditions.
“We have been in contact with the relatives of the deceased migrants and if we get their consent, we will bury the bodies in Libya,” the expat secretary added.
A senior official at the ministry claimed that relatives of five of the dead migrants had given their consent to bury the bodies in Libya.
Of the 13 Bangladeshi workers, five were killed in a missile attack in Tripoli on August 5. They were Monir Mia from Narsinghdi, Milon Hossain from Jenaidah, Moshiur Rahman from Gopalganj, Sheikh Mohammad Milon and Murad, both from Madaripur.
Four other Bangladeshis died from cardiac arrests. They were Md Mokbul Hossain from Comilla, Md Jamal Mia from Kishoreganj, Md Belaet Hossain from Jamalpur and Md Mojid Ali from Manikganj.
Another, Md Selim Ahmed from Moulobhibazar, died a normal death, while Mafuzur Rahman from Noakhali was shot dead, according to a report from the Bangladesh mission in Libya.
However, the particulars of two others, Kamal Bhiyan from Bhramanbaria and Arman Gazi were not available.