We're Sorry!

This is a special report compiled by DT’s online team News of Bahrain (NOB).

What makes it special is that, this is not just a news report.

This is an apology!

An apology to victims and survivors of one of Bahrain's biggest disasters!

An apology to the 58 people who died and the 72 injured when the Al Dana dhow capsized during a party to mark the completion of the concreting work at the Bahrain World Trade Centre on March 30, 2006!

An apology to the families on which the tragedy left a scar that will probably never completely heal!

An apology on behalf of the media in Bahrain who failed to remember the day that several Bahrainis, Britons, South Africans, Indians, Pakistanis, Filipinos, Thais and Taiwanese either lost their lives or were injured in the disaster 10 years ago!

An apology for not remembering or publishing any report on it yesterday to remind Bahrain of the loss!

Embassies that had lost their citizens in the tragedy used to regularly hold condolence meetings every year since then until maybe a couple of years ago.

However, officials from two Bahrain companies, Atkins and Nass Corporation, who had lost their staff in the tragedy, visited the Christian cemetery yesterday at 4.30pm along with British ambassador Simon Martin.

“In 2008 when I joined Atkins in Bahrain, the Dhow tragedy was still at the forefront of everyone’s minds, not only in Atkins, but within the greater Bahrain community. Although it has been 10 years since the tragedy, for those directly affected by the loss of colleagues, friends and family, the loss still sits heavy on their hearts," said Atkins Managing Director - Bahrain & Kuwait Rick Hopper in a statement to NOB.

"It is for these individuals and those lives lost that we remembered the 10-year anniversary. On Wednesday, 30th March, we visited the Memorial Stone in the Old Christian Cemetery, Manama, to lay a wreath of remembrance and observe a minute's silence in honour of all of the lives lost. The remembrance was attended by Atkins, Nass – Murray Roberts and family members. Atkins ME staff who were unable to attend the event  observed a minute's silence on the day.”

Flashback

Meanwhile it was reported in 2012 that survivors of the Al Dana dhow tragedy were awarded BD2,000 ($5,304) compensation by Bahrain’s High Civil Court.

The court had ordered the dhow owner to pay the amount to each victim after finally reaching a verdict five years after the tragedy.

Lawyer Ahmed Al Arrad, who represented nearly 50 people seeking compensation, confirmed the Bahraini owner of the vessel Abdulla Al Kobaisi had been ordered to pay the compensation.

The judge had ruled that each person be given BD2,000, apart from three of the survivors, who were not on the list but their names remained confidential.

Forty-six survivors were involved in the fight for compensation after the vessel capsized off the coast of Muharraq.

The boat's Indian captain Rajendra Kumar Ramijibhai was released early from a three-year sentence for manslaughter in August 2008.

South African company Nass, Murray and Roberts had hired the dhow from Island Tours, which in turn leased it from the Abdulla Al Kobaisi Company for Travel and Tourism.

Al Kobaisi was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for five years, but spared prison after offering to compensate survivors and relatives of the victims.