RIFFA, Bahrain, 3 April 2006 — The bodies of a Pakistani, his wife and daughter who were among the 58 victims of the cruise boat that sank off the coast of Bahrain Thursday night, became the first to be buried yesterday afternoon.
Their burial in a Riffa cemetery came as other families from Britain, Ireland, South Africa, India, Thailand, and the Philippines were still making arrangements to fly the bodies of their dead relatives home.
The Pakistanis who had lived in Bahrain for more than 30 years were buried in the presence of the Pakistani and Bangladeshi ambassadors to Bahrain.
Amanullah Ahmed Din, 50, who worked for the South African construction firm Murray & Roberts which had rented the boat for its employees, had taken wife Farzanah Rohi, 48, and daughter Hana, 23, for the sea trip.
The family survivors include three daughters and two sons who did not join the cruise.
The death toll for the dhow disaster rose to 58 yesterday morning after the body of a missing man was found near the shores of Asker, south of Bahrain.
A sailor discovered the body floating in the water and according to sources it appeared to be of an Asian male, believed to be an Indian.
Search and rescue efforts had been scaled down, with some reports saying that it had been called off as the number of dead and rescued reached 126 people, which matches the figure the Bahraini government suggested to be on board the dhow before it capsized.
