Online Desk:  The bodies of eight Bangladeshi nationals who died while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe and subsequently drowned near the coast of Tunisia will arrive in the country this afternoon.

According to a Facebook post by the Bangladesh Embassy in Libya, the coffins, transported via Saudia Airlines, are scheduled to arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 12:15 pm on May 2.

On Tuesday, in the presence of Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Libya and non-resident envoy to Tunisia, Major General (Retd.) Abul Hasnat Mohammad Khairul Bashar, embassy officials transferred the bodies to the authorities at Tunis International Airport.

Following the tragic incident on the night of February 14, 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.

The Foreign Ministry’s Africa Wing coordinated inter-ministerial efforts to facilitate the repatriation of the bodies, with assistance from the ministries of home, law, and funds from the Expatriates Welfare Ministry.

Among the deceased are Sajal, Noyon Biswas, Mamun Sheikh, Kazi Sajib, and Kaiser Khalifa from Madaripur district, and Rifat, Russel, and Imrul Kayes from Gopalganj district.

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.