FUNERAL PRAYERS WERE said for the wife and children of Beaumont Hospital neurosurgeon Dr Muhammad Taufiq al-Sattar this afternoon in Leicester.

Dr Muhammad Taufiq Al Sattar (centre) at Spinney Hill Park, Leicester, after the funeral prayers. Pic: Rui Vieira/PA Wire

Dr Taufiq’s wife Shehnila Taufiq (47) and children, teenagers Zainab, Bilal and Jamil, all died when their Leicester house went ablaze on 13 September.

The scene of the fatal house fire in Wood Hill, Leicester. Pic: Rui Vieira/PA Wire

Eight men have been charged in connection with their deaths, with the latest arrest taking place today.

Thousands of people turned out for the funeral, the BBC reports, and Dr Taufiq thanked them for their support.

Dr Muhammad Taufiq Al Sattar (centre) at Spinney Hill Park, Leicester, after the funeral prayers for his wife and children. Pic: Rui Vieira/PA Wire

He told a gathering in Spinney Park, Leicester, after the funeral that “our hearts are breaking” following the deaths.

The bodies of the family members are to be brought to Dublin for burial this weekend.

Following the deaths of his family members, Taufiq had said in September that he will “deeply miss my beautiful wife and three beautiful children”.

Read: Three arrested in connection with Leicester house fire>