The mortal remains of four expatriate Bangladeshi brothers, who tragically lost their lives inside a stationary vehicle within the Muladdah locality of the South Al Batinah Governorate in the Sultanate of Oman, have been successfully repatriated to their native country. The state-owned commercial aircraft tasked with transporting the bodies of the deceased siblings, Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-722, arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Tuesday evening, 19 May, at approximately 08:15 pm.
The Member of Parliament representing the Rangunia electoral constituency, Hummam Quader Chowdhury, was physically present at the airport complex during the formal administrative procedures required to hand over the coffins to the waiting family members. The parliamentary representative expressed profound condolences to the next of kin regarding the devastating and simultaneous loss of four members of a single household. Additionally, he highly commended the swift operational initiatives and diplomatic coordination carried out by the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, working alongside the Embassy of Bangladesh in Muscat, which successfully accelerated the logistical repatriation process for the deceased nationals.
In accordance with the established welfare protocols managed by the state, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment provided an immediate financial disbursement of 35,000 Bangladeshi Taka for each of the deceased. This emergency financial grant was handed over directly to the immediate family members at the airport terminal to offset the immediate logistical costs of domestic transport, specialized hearse hire, and subsequent funeral arrangements.
Logistics to Chittagong and Community Mourning
According to verified accounts provided by senior members of the family, the coffins containing the four brothers were transferred into specialized ambulance vehicles immediately upon receiving final clearance from airport customs and immigration departments. The convoy travelled through the night to convey the bodies to their ancestral village home situated within the Rangunia Upazila of the Chittagong District.
The simultaneous loss of four active breadwinners from one family unit has resulted in widespread grief throughout the rural sub-district, with scores of local residents, extended relatives, and community elders arriving at the family compound to express their deep solidarity with the surviving relatives.
The family elders have finalized the itinerary for the performance of the final Islamic religious rites, which are scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 20 May. The collective funeral prayer, or Janaza, is organized to be held at 11:00 am on the open grounds of the Nesarabad Lalanagar High School. Upon the conclusion of these public congregational prayers, the bodies of the siblings will be transported to their final resting place inside the perimeter of their ancestral family cemetery.
To prepare for the formal interment, local community volunteers and relatives have already completed the excavation of four parallel, adjacent graves side by side, ensuring the brothers are laid to rest together.
Context of the Middle Eastern Incident
This repatriation operation follows a critical incident in the Sultanate of Oman that engaged the attention of the wider South Asian expatriate worker community. Royal Oman Police units and emergency medical personnel operating in the South Al Batinah administrative region had discovered the unresponsive bodies of the four citizens inside a locked automobile parked in the Muladdah sector.
Following the initial intervention by Omani law enforcement officials, the deceased were moved to a local institutional mortuary to undergo necessary forensic and administrative verification. The Embassy of Bangladesh in Muscat subsequently worked in close coordination with the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cancel local civil registrations, secure the necessary consular death certificates, and finalize the transport details with Biman Bangladesh Airlines to facilitate their return to Bangladesh.