Upon arrival at Zia International Airport at 2:00pm, Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan will receive the bodies on behalf of the government with due state formalities.

The six met their tragic death just hours after their landing in Ivory Coast.

A truck carrying the soldiers crashed at Tiasali, some 125km off Ivory Coast capital Yamoussoukro, and veered into a roadside ditch at around 5:30pm local time (11:30pm Bangladesh time). Eleven others were also injured in this accident.

The deceased are lance corporal SM Miraz Ahmed (20 Field Regiment, Artillery) hailing from village Kanudeshkathi in Rajapur upazila under Jhalakathi district, lance corporal M Abdus Sattar (6 Field Regiment, Artillery) hailing from village Dariapur in Chapainawabganj upazila under the district, soldier Abdul Halim (27 Field Regiment, Artillery) hailing from village Bara Chaisuti in Kuliarchar upazila under Kishoreganj district, soldier Mohammad Kamruzzaman Khan (36 Air Defence Regiment, Artillery) of village Bamutia in Chandina upazila under Comilla district, soldier Mohammad Shahid Mia (32 Field Regiment, Artillery) of village Shatra in Kulaura upazila under Moulvibazar district and soldier M Mizanur Rahman (24 Field Regiment, Artillery) of village Bhakutia under Jessore district.

On the way, the driver of one of the trucks lost control and the accident occurred, killing five on the spot, while another succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital.

A group of 80 Bangladeshi peacekeepers including the six left the country on August 25 and reached the former French colony the same day to join a UN peacekeeping mission. In four military trucks, they started from Yamoussoukro for Abidjan, 250km away.

Nearly 3,000 Bangladeshi soldiers are working with the UN peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast, sources in Bangladesh Army said, adding that around 10,000 Bangladeshis are working in 12 UN missions worldwide.