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Last rites of all 7 Nepali fire victims likely in Doha (update)

Last rites of seven Nepali workers killed in a deadly inferno in Doha on Friday are likely to be performed in the Qatari capital itself, news reports quoting the Doha-based Royal Nepalese Embassy officials said Monday.

“The embassy officials have established contact with the relatives of the victims in Nepal and each of them has almost given consent to the burial in Qatar,” Rajendra Pandey, deputy chief of the Nepalese embassy, who visited the hospital mortuary on Sunday along with ambassador Shymananda Suman was quoted by Gulf Times as saying.

Five of the seven victims were Muslims and they are likely to be buried in Abu Hamour, Doha, according to the report. “However, paperwork is still going on and within a few days, everything could be completed,” he said.

The fire broke out in a two-storey building at Sikkat Al Ikkah lane early Friday morning. Six other Nepalis were seriously injured and five of them have been undergoing treatment.

Pandey also said it was difficult to identify the bodies, which were charred beyond recognition. Relatives managed to identify only one or two bodies.

Officials of the two companies, which had employed the victims, visited the Nepal embassy yesterday and offered all possible assistance to their relatives, he added.

Quoting the Qatari authorities, Pandey said the bodies would be released for burial as soon as the formalities were over. The embassy and some expatriate organisations are to organise a gathering to mourn the deaths, probably on Friday, the report said. nepalnews.com mk Sept 12 05