Sixteen Bangladeshi migrant workers have died after a fire broke out at a sofa factory in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh officials said on Monday, highlighting once again the dangers faced by millions of migrant workers who travel abroad to support their families.
The fire occurred on Sunday in the Musa Sanaiya industrial area of the Saudi capital, according to Bangladesh’s Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, which cited information from the Saudi fire service.
Ten of the workers killed in the blaze were from Naogaon district in northern Bangladesh, while the remaining victims came from Natore and Rajshahi districts, the ministry said.
Bangladesh’s Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, Ariful Haque Chowdhury, expressed condolences to the victims’ families and instructed officials to accelerate the procedures required to repatriate the workers’ remains.
Chowdhury also directed officials to ensure that the families receive the financial assistance and other support available from the Bangladeshi government.
“Such untimely and tragic deaths of expatriates working in distant Saudi Arabia in search of livelihood are very heartbreaking. Their contribution to the country’s economy is immense,” he said.
Bangladesh’s embassy in Riyadh has been coordinating with Saudi authorities following the incident. Embassy officials travelled to the scene to assist with identifying the victims and completing the procedures required to return their remains to Bangladesh.
The Bangladeshi foreign ministry said it was closely monitoring the situation and providing assistance to the embassy and the victims’ families.
The cause of the fire had not been established at the time of reporting, and authorities had not immediately provided details on whether other workers were injured or affected by the blaze. Bangladeshi officials said they were continuing to work with Saudi authorities to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and complete the necessary formalities.
The deaths are likely to have a significant impact in Bangladesh, where overseas employment provides an important source of income for millions of households. Saudi Arabia is the largest destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers, with an estimated 3.5 million Bangladeshis living and working in the kingdom.
Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia sent more than $2.7 billion in remittances to their families and communities in Bangladesh last year, making the country an important source of foreign currency for the South Asian economy.
Many Bangladeshi migrants in Saudi Arabia work in labour-intensive sectors, including construction, manufacturing, domestic services and other low-skilled occupations. Their earnings often support basic household needs such as housing, education, healthcare and food.
The loss of 16 workers in a single industrial fire has therefore raised renewed concerns about the safety and working conditions faced by migrant labourers abroad.
Bangladesh has sought to strengthen assistance for its overseas workforce through its diplomatic missions and expatriate welfare agencies, particularly in cases involving workplace accidents, serious injuries and deaths.
Following the Riyadh fire, government officials have been instructed to provide appropriate assistance to the victims’ families and ensure that the workers’ remains are returned to Bangladesh as quickly as possible.
The incident also underscores the importance of workplace safety for migrant workers in the Gulf, where large numbers of foreign labourers are employed in construction, manufacturing and other physically demanding industries.
For Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia remains a crucial destination for overseas workers and a major source of remittances. For the families of the 16 workers who died in Riyadh, however, the economic benefits associated with overseas employment have been overshadowed by the immediate loss of their loved ones and the effort to bring their remains home.