A collective funeral prayer was conducted on Friday for seven victims of the Riyadh sofa factory blaze who hailed from Naogaon district.

The religious service took place at the Molla Azad Memorial College grounds located in Atrai upazila at approximately 10:15 am.

Following the prayers, the remains were handed over to the mourning relatives, who transported them back to their respective native villages for final interment.

This came after the mortal remains of nine Bangladeshi nationals who lost their lives in the Saudi Arabian factory catastrophe landed at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 4 pm on Thursday.

Out of those nine returned victims, seven belonged specifically to Atrai upazila in Naogaon.

A total of 16 Bangladeshi workers tragically died when a fierce fire ripped through a sofa manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia on August 9.

With active backing from local administrative bodies, the coffins were brought to Atrai at roughly 1:30 am on Friday.

Kept inside hearses, the bodies stayed stationed on the grounds of Atrai Police Station until dawn broke.

The deceased individuals were formally identified as Md Farid, son of Moin Uddin from Udonpai village; Rubel Pramanik, son of Saidur Rahman; Mohan Ali; Sumon Ali; Kalimuddin, son of Bazlur Rahman; Sohel Rana, son of Badal Tarafdar from Dubai village; and Abdul Jalil Sardar, son of Tamez Uddin Sardar from Parkasunda village.

The funeral congregation was attended by Naogaon-6 Member of Parliament Sk Md Rejaul Islam, Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Saiful Islam, Additional Superintendent of Police Mohammad Monirul Islam, Atrai Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Moniruzzaman, Atrai Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mahbub Alam, alongside numerous local community members.

Lawmaker Rejaul noted that the grieving households had already received financial assistance granted through the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board. “The government will continue to support the families.

The process of bringing the remaining bodies back to the country is also underway,” he stated.