“Today I attended the funeral prayers of my both and only sons and had to shoulder their coffins. Now I have no sons and I’m left with one girl, who is married and no more lives with us. I pray to God that no one on earth meets this fate. It is not easy to bear this loss,” Idrees said.

Both sons were among the labourers on board the bus which was crushed by an out-of-control truck in Al Ain last Monday. The horrific accident left 24 dead and a further 22 injured, with some left still fighting for their lives in hospital.

The 55-year-old man, who has been working in the UAE for the last 30 years, will be accompanying the bodies of sons Kursheed Alam, 27, and Massood Rana, 19, back home to Bangladesh.

Idrees said he may not return to the country, as his 40-year-old wife lives in Bangladesh. Kursheed came to the UAE six years ago and Massood one year ago.

“We tried our best to hide the news from my wife, but due to media reports in Bangladesh, she was worried and I had to pass on the tragic news to her. Now she is almost half-dead. Our family members and my daughter are giving her sleeping pills to keep her relaxed,” he said.

“We were planning our annual vacation for the marriage arrangements of my sons. Now we have three families in mourning – ours and the families of the two girls,” said Idrees with tears shedding from his eyes.

It was also tragic for the family of Mohammed Arif, 23, who also died in the tragedy. He was also about to go back home on vacation and get married.

His uncle Mohammedul Hassan, who has been working in Al Ain for the past 20 years, said Arif was the only child of his sister Noon Nehar Begum.

“My sister is a single woman, and Arif was the only hope for her for a happy life. She has been waiting for him to get married so she could have another woman in the house to help and give company to her. I have been in touch with close relatives and they told me that she has lost her sense and is acting like a child,” he said.

Meanwhile, Consul for Labour Affairs at the Bangladesh embassy, Latiful Haq Kazmi, said the funeral prayers for all the 18 Bangladeshis were held at Al Ain Hospital Mosque with hundreds of community members and UAE Government officials attending.

He said seven of the dead will be flown tonight (Sunday morning 2am) by Biman, while another 11 bodies will leave the folllowing day. Kazmi also said one more body will be repatriated later after paper work was completed.

The diplomat said after further investigations and DNA tests, the number of Bangladeshi nationals died in the accident had risen to 19. — nissar@khaleejtimes.com