The bodies of 23 Bangladeshi nationals recovered from the wreckage of a deadly plane crash in Nepal have arrived in Dhaka, the government said on Monday.
A special flight operated by state-owned Biman Bangladesh Airlines carried the coffins of 23 of the 26 Bangladeshi nationals killed in last week's crash to Dhaka, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Shahjahan Kamal received the bodies at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
A Nepal-bound flight operated by the Dhaka-based US-Bangla Airlines with 71 people on board crashed and burst into flames at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport on March 12, killing at least 50 people.
A minute's silence was observed before refrigerated vans took the coffins from the airport to Dhaka's Army Stadium for funeral prayers.
Floral wreaths were placed on the coffins on behalf of President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The premier did not turn up to the proceedings in person. A senior minister of Hasina's cabinet said she would meet the families of the victims at her office soon.
"She will assist the families with whatever means necessary," Obaidul Quader, Bangladesh's Roads and Bridges Affairs Minister, told reporters after the service.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mozaffor Hossain said the 23 bodies were handed over to relatives after the prayers. Television footage showed grief-stricken relatives breaking down while receiving the coffins.
Quader said the three other bodies will be flown to Dhaka after their identification is confirmed by their relatives in Kathmandu.
Six of the 10 Bangladeshi nationals who sustained injuries were brought back to Dhaka for medical care, the minister added.
Bangladeshi relatives of victims of the US-Bangla plane crash in Kathmandu react as they receive the bodies in Dhaka on Monday.
