C T Online Desk: Four Bangladeshi workers have died in a fire at a sofa factory in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The fire was reported in the factory of Yusuf Furniture in Sanaiyat, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, on Tuesday morning.
The deceased were Md Yusuf Miah, 45, son of Abdul Kader, Tarek Hossain Badol, 42, son of Mir Hossain, and Md Rasel, 26, son of Abdul Wahab, hailing from Tarabaria village under ward No 2 of Dumurua union in Senbagh upazila of Noakhali, and Md Sumon from Comilla’s Nangalkot upazila.
The victim’s family members confirmed the matter.
Golam Rasul, the younger brother of the deceased Yusuf, said: “My elder brother had been in the Emirates for 25 years. He worked in a factory in Sharjah. It is not yet known for sure how the fire originated. After the fire, our relatives in that country informed us over the phone in the afternoon that four people including my brother had died.”
Rasel’s mother Sharifa Begum said: “Rasel was the second of two brothers and two sisters. He has left behind a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, who has been sick for a long time. Rasel went to Abu Dhabi in 2022 taking out a loan of Tk6-7 lakh. He took a job in that sofa factory because there were some others in the same area. He talked to his wife and family members on the mobile around 1am on Monday like every day. As he had duty the next day, he said he would have to go to sleep quickly and hung up. On Tuesday afternoon, I came to know through people in Abu Dhabi that Rasel had died in a fire in his sleep.”
Shawkat Hossain, chairman of Dumurua union parishad, said: “I have heard about the matter. Being in Dhaka, it was not possible to go to the houses of the victims. On Wednesday morning, the union parishad will send local public representatives to the homes of the victims to get more information. I will take measures to bring back the bodies of the victims to the country.”
