Bangladeshi Expatriates in Italy: 90 bodies flown home in last 10 months

As many as 90 dead bodies of Bangladeshi expatriates have been sent home from Italy between July 2020 and April this year, according to the Bangladesh Embassy in Rome.

The number was 51 between July 2019 and June 2020, as per the data of Wage Earners' Welfare Board (WEWB).

The embassy's Labour Welfare Counsellor Arfanul Haque yesterday said most of the 90 expatriates died from Covid-19 and heart failure.

Since March last year, 39 Bangladeshis have died after being infected by the deadly virus in the European country, he said, citing an unofficial account.

He added that the Italian government had not released the data on the nationality of those who died there from Covid-19.

The Bangladesh mission paid Tk 40 lakh in air fare to fly 40 bodies back home since July last year, Arfanul told The Daily Star over a WhatsApp call. Such support is usually extended when the deceased wage earner's family members apply for the assistance given the deceased was a member of the WEWB.

The total cost of sending a corpse from Italy to Bangladesh is about €2,600, and affluent Bangladeshis sometimes help the poor families carry the bodies of their dear ones back home.

Italy is home to about 1.45 lakh Bangladeshis registered with the Italian authorities. A significant number of undocumented Bangladeshis also live there.