bdnews24.com :
At least 20 people have gone missing when a Malaysia-bound trawler in which they were illegally travelling met with an accident in the Bay of Bengal.
The trawler was wrecked by strong waves, a rescued passenger recalled.
The debris of the vessel were seen floating in an estuary of the Bay of Bengal in the Samitiparha area of the Cox’s Bazar town around 1.30pm on Monday.
Confirming the mishap, OC of the Cox’s Bazar Sadar Police Station Mahfuzur Rahman said the goods on the trawler had been seized.
A passenger, Mohmmad Sahin, 35, was rescued and admitted to the Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital.
He told reporters that he was a resident of the Adiabaskanda village under Narsinghdi’s Roypur Upazila.
According to Sahin, 30 people, including his brother ‘Joynal’, were on board on the ill-fated trawler.
They set sail on Monday morning, but strong waves pounded the trawler after it was some distance into the sea, he recalled.
Ten persons, including he, had made it to get to the shore, but 20 went missing, Sahin added.
However, he could not recall how the others had managed to survive and where were they.
It was also not clear which middleman was involved in trying to illegally pushing them into Malaysia.
