COX’S BAZAR, Feb 11 (NNN-BSS) — At least 13 Rohingya people including
women and children died in a trawler capsize in the Bay of Bengal near the
Saint Martin’s island Tuesday morning, police said.
“The bodies of at least 13 Rohingyas were retrieved while 56 others rescued
alive after a Malaysia-bound trawler carrying them capsized in the Bay of
Bengal off the Saint Martin’s island at 8:30am,” Additional Superintendent of Police Md Iqbal Hossain said.
The trawler carrying Rohingya people left Teknaf for Malaysia at
unspecified time last night and sank off 15-km of the Saint Martin’s Island,
he said.
How many people were in trawler is yet to be known. But it is suspected
that the trawler capsized due to overcrowding.
On information, Bangladesh Coast Guard and Navy personnel rushed to the
spot and launched a joint drive, Hossain said.
“Rescue efforts are ongoing. The naval ships are there with the members of
the Coastguard,” Lieutenant Commander Nayem ul Haque, in-charge of the
Coastguard’s St Martin’s station, told BSS. — NNN-BSS