A 48-year-old Bangladeshi expatriate worker died from smoke inhalation while sleeping in his residence in the Sharjah emirate of the United Arab Emirates on Saturday night (October 12).
The victim, Mohammad Abu Zahed, hailed from Uttar Hingla village under Mofzal Doctor Bari in Ward 8 of Dabua Union in Chattogram's Rauzan Upazila. He was the son of the late Mohammad Ejahar Mia and had been working as a sales clerk at a grocery shop in Sharjah. He leaves behind his grieving wife and two young daughters, 10-year-old Jerin Akter and three-year-old Afrin Akter.
Family members recounted that after completing his studies at Rauzan College, Abu Zahed initially operated a telecommunication business at Fakirhat Bazar in the Upazila headquarters. Seeking better economic prospects, he migrated to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in 2003. He had last visited Bangladesh on leave in late 2024, spending several months with his family before returning abroad to resume his livelihood.
30 PM on Saturday when an electrical short circuit triggered a fire in an adjacent room while Abu Zahed was fast asleep. He succumbed to asphyxiation as thick smoke engulfed his living quarters. Local police subsequently rushed to the scene and recovered his body from the apartment.
The devastating news of his sudden demise reached his family members in Bangladesh on Sunday morning (October 13). Nezam Uddin, general secretary of the Rauzan Press Club and brother-in-law of the deceased, stated that arrangements are currently underway to repatriate the body. Relatives are completing the necessary administrative and consular procedures, and the mortal remains are expected to be brought back to Bangladesh within the next four to five days.
