Bodies of 23 plane crash victims handed over to relatives

Staff Correspondent: The bodies of the 23 Bangladeshis, who were killed in US-Bangla plane crash in Nepal, have been handed over to their relatives after the end of second namaz-e-janaza at Army Stadium in Dhaka on Monday afternoon.

The namaz-e-janaza was held at Army Stadium in Dhaka around 5:30pm. Later, a Munajat was held seeking divine blessings for the departed souls.

After the Janaza, Military Secretary to President Major General Md Sarwar Hossain on behalf of President M Abdul Hamid and General Secretary of Awami League and also Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on behalf of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina showed their respects to memories of plane crash victims by placing wreaths at the coffins.

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Choudhury also placed wreaths at the coffins of the ill-fated victims of the most deadly plane crash of the country's aviation history.

Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, Planning Minister Mostofa Kamal and Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister AKM Shahjahan Kamal also attended the Namaj-e-Janaza, among others.

After the Namaz-e-janaza and all formalities at the army stadium the bodies were finally handed over to relatives.

Earlier, the identified bodies of 23 Bangladeshi passengers of crashed US-Bangla aircraft were brought back here today from Kathmandu, Nepal by a cargo aircraft of Bangladesh Air Force.

The cargo flight carrying the bodies landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 4:00 pm.

From the airport the bodies were taken to National Army Stadium for Namaj-e-Janaza attended by hundreds of people from all walks of life after Asr prayers.

Twenty-three bodies have so far been identified among 26 Bangladesh passengers who were killed at a deadly plane crash of US-Bangla airlines in Trivuban International Airport in Kathmandu on March 12, leaving at least 51 people dead, including 22 Nepalese and one Chinese national.

Bangladeshi victims, whose bodies were brought back today, are Foysal Ahmed, Bilkis Ara, Begum Hurun Nahar Bilquis Banu, Akhtara Begum, Nazia Afrin Chowdhury, Rokibul Hasan, Hasan Imam, Akhi Moni, Meenhaz Bin Nasir, Faruk Hossain Priok, his 2-year-old daughter Tamarra Prionmoyee, Motiur Rahman, SM Mahmudur Rahman, Tahira Tanvin Shahshi Reza, Begum Umme Salma, Nd Nuruz Zaman, Rafiq Zaman, his wife Sanzida Huque and their 6-year-old son Aniruddha Zaman and four crews - Pilot Abid Sultan, co-pilot Prithula Rashid and flight attendants Khwaja Hossain Mohammad Shafey and Sharmeen Akter Nabila.

Earlier, the first Namaz-e-Janaza of 23 Bangladeshis was held on the premises of Bangladesh Embassy in Nepal, Kathmandu prior to fly for Dhaka.

The relatives of the victims, who were in Nepal for identifying the bodies, also reached Dhaka by a special flight of US-Bangla airlines half-an- hour before the air force cargo aircrafts carrying the bodies arrived here.


risingbd/Dhaka/March 19, 2018/Maksud/AI