A Bangladesh Air Force cargo plane, carrying the bodies from Nepal, landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 4pm.
The second namaz-e-janaza of 23 Bangladeshis, who were killed in last week’s crash of US-Bangla Airlines Flight BS211 in Kathmandu, was held at the Army Stadium in Dhaka on Monday.
Earlier, a Bangladesh Air Force cargo plane, carrying the bodies, landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 4pm.
The airline’s General Manager (Marketing and Public Relation) Kamrul Islam said the janaza was held around 5:25pm.
Afterwards, the bodies of the victims were handed over to their respective families.
Kamrul said US-Bangla Airlines would provide the transport facilities to carry the bodies.
The Bangladesh Air Force cargo plane carrying the bodies of US-Bangla plane crash victims stationed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Monday, March 19, 2018 Arifur Rahman Rabbi/Dhaka Tribune
Another US-Bangla Airlines flight, carrying the families of the victims, also arrived from Kathmandu around 2:40pm, he added.
Captain Abid Sultan, the deceased pilot of the ill-fated flight, was buried at the Banani Military Graveyard around 7:30pm.
With his wife Afsana Khanom hospitalized, Abid’s burial process was carried out by their 14-year-old son Tamzid Sultan Mahi and other relatives.
Family members of the other deceased said they were also preparing to bury their loved ones.
Mother of Prithula Rashid, co-pilot of the ill-fated US-Bangla Airlines Flight BS211, breaks down in tears before the janaza at the Army Stadium in Dhaka on Monday, March 18, 2018 Dhaka Tribune
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader and Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Shajahan Kamal received the bodies when they arrived from Nepal.
The bodies were then taken to the Army Stadium for the funeral prayers.
The president’s Military Secretary Maj Gen Md Sarwar Hossain first placed a wreath on the coffins on behalf of President Md Abdul Hamid.
Minister Obaidul Quader then placed wreaths on the coffin on behalf of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and ruling Awami League, while Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury placed a wreath on behalf of the parliament members.
Forty-nine people were killed when the US-Bangla Airlines plane aircraft crashed and burst into flames at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport on March 12.
Of the 71 people it was carrying, 36 were from Bangladesh, 33 from Nepal, and one each from China and the Maldives.
Among the dead, 26 were Bangladeshis, 22 Nepalis, and the other was the Chinese national. The bodies of the Nepali and Chinese were handed over to their relatives in Nepal on Saturday.
The first namaj-e-janaza of 23 Bangladeshis being held on the premises of Bangladesh Embassy in Nepal on Monday, March 19, 2018 Rajib Dhar/Dhaka Tribune
First janaza held in Nepal
Around 9:10am on Monday, the first janaza was held at the premises of Bangladesh Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Afterwards, the bodies of the 23 Bangladeshi victims were taken to Tribhuvan International Airport.
The Bangladesh Air Force plane took off from there around 2pm local time.
A total of 24 bodies out of 26 Bangladeshi deceased were identified as of Monday: Foysal Ahmed, Bilkis Ara, Begum Hurun Nahar Bilquis Banu, Akhtara Begum, Nazia Afrin Chowdhury, Md Rokibul Hasan, Sanzida Hoque, Md Hasan Imam, Akhi Moni, Meenhaz Bin Nasir, Faruq Hossain Priok, Prionmoyee Tamarra, Md Motiur Rahman, SM Mahmudur Rahman, Tahira Tanvin Shashi Reza, Umme Salma, Aniruddha Zaman, Md Nuruz Zaman, Md Rafiquz Zaman, Mohammad Nazrul Islam, Abid Sultan, Prithula Rashid, Khwaja Hossain Mohammad Shafey, and Sharmin Akhter Nabila.
Relatives carry the coffins of their loved ones killed in last week’s plane crash before the janaza at the Bangladesh Embassy in Nepal on Monday, March 12, 2018 Rajib Dhar/Dhaka Tribune
The last four were the crew members of the plane.
After the first janaza, Bangladesh Ambassador to Nepal Mashfee Binte Shams on Monday said: “The body of Mohammad Nazrul Islam will be sent to Bangladesh on Wednesday.
“We will send the bodies of Alifuzzaman and Pias Roy after their identities are confirmed through DNA tests.”
Of the 10 Bangladeshi survivors, seven are undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, while two were sent to Singapore from Nepal for better treatment.
The last injured passenger – Eakub Ali – is scheduled to be taken to Apollo Hospital in New Delhi.
Source: Dhaka Tribune.
