Dead bodies of plane crash victims on the way to Dhaka

FT ONLINE

A Bangladesh Air Force carrier, air lifting the 23 Bangladeshi plane crash victims, has left from Kathmandu to Dhaka.

The Namaz-e-Zanaza of the victims will be held at the Bangladesh Army Stadium in Dhaka after they arrive.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director Alamgir Kabir said that the aircraft is expected to land at the Shahjalal International Airport around 4 pm.

Ruling Awami League General Secretary and Road Tranpsort Minister Obaidul Quader will officially receive the bodies from the airport, said the ministry’s Senior Information Officer Abu Naser.

The bodies will be then taken to the army stadium, where a funeral prayer is scheduled to be held at 4.30 pm.

Relatives of the deceased have been asked to be there to receive the mortal remains.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is also expected to attend the event, according to ISPR Director Kabir.

The Bangladesh Embassy in Nepal arranged a funeral service for the victims earlier the day. The funeral was held after the coffins were brought to the embassy premises in Kathmandu around 8:30am. Bangladesh embassy staff, expatriates workers and officials of the US-Bangla Airlines took part in the prayers.

An aircraft of the US-Bangla Airlines, with 71 people on board, crashed while trying to land at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport on March 12.

In total, 49 people died in the accident, of which 26 were Bangladeshis.