The bodies of eight Bangladeshi nationals who died while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to enter Europe and subsequently drowned near the coast of Tunisia arrived at Dhaka airport on Thursday (2 May) afternoon.
A flight of Saudia Airlines, carrying the bodies, arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at around 12:30pm.
Following the tragic incident on the night of 14 February, officials at the Bangladesh Embassy in Tripoli worked closely with Tunisia's Foreign Ministry and local authorities to manage the forensic identification, confirmation of identities through domestic agencies, issuance of death and medical certificates, and coordination of the repatriation process.
A boat, carrying 52 passengers and a sailor from the coast of Zuwarah on its way to Europe, sank off the Tunisian coast.
Out of the 44 survivors, 27 are Bangladeshis, with others from Pakistan (8), Syria (5), and Egypt (4).
Among the nine fatalities, eight were identified as Bangladeshis and one as a Pakistani national. The deceased Bangladeshis are - Sajal, Noyon Biswas, Mamun Sheikh, Kazi Sajib, and Kaiser Khalifa from Madaripur district, and Rifat, Russel, and Imrul Kayes from Gopalganj district.
BRAC Associate Director (Migration and Youth Platform) Shariful Hasan said, "11 Bangladeshis, who were on that boat but survived have returned to the country. Among them, two from Rajoi upazila of Madaripur contacted BRAC. They alleged that those 8 Bangladeshis were killed. Since a case has been registered in this incident, we hope that the details will come out in the investigation of the law enforcement agencies."
According to the police, Sunil Bairagi, the father of deceased Sajal Bairagi, filed a case at Dhaka Airport Police Station in this incident.
Two accused in the case were arrested.
They were arrested two days after the filing of the case on 19 April.
In the statement of the case, Sunil Bairagi alleged that his son Sajal Bairagi wanted to go to Italy in the hope of a better life. Sajal's former acquaintance Yuvraj Kazi, 24 and Mosharraf Kazi, who is now in Libya, offered to send him to Italy legally in exchange for Tk14 lakh. Sajal Bairagi and his family agreed to this proposal.
With the consent of both parties, on 17 November last year, Sajal gave Tk2.5 lakh and a passport to Yuvraj Kazi in Gopalganj.
He was taken to Shahjalal International Airport on 30 December, Sajal's father said.
Before entering the airport, Yuvraj Kazi took another five lakh cash from Sajal before getting out of the car. He left for Dubai at six in the morning on 31 December.
Sunil Bairagi gave another Tk6.5lakh to Yuvraj Kazi on 8 January.
But since then Sunil could not contact his son, he said.
After that, Sunil came to know from media reports that Sajal was among the eight Bangladeshis who were killed in a trawler travelling from Libya to Italy on 14 April.
He alleged that a gang of 20 people smuggled the victims out of Bangladesh illegally in exchange for huge sums of money with the lure of a better life.
Knowing that they would surely die, they put them in a small boat in the rough sea and drowned them in the water, he said.
