Staff Reporter :
A tragic boat capsize incident taking place in the Mediterranean Sea on Saturday cost 37 lives of the ill fatted passengers who were eyeing livelihood in the continent of Europe.
All of them were from Bangladesh. .
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said, ” About 30-35 Bangladesh nationals might have died in the boat capsize after 14 were rescued out of 51 passengers..”
“It was very risky and dangerous voyage by the Bangladeshis despite knowing the consequence of danger. It is very regrettable, and heart breaking incident,” he said while briefing reporters at his office in the city on Sunday.
The foreign minister said that Bangladesh ambassador to Libya Sk Sekander Ali conveyed information about the tragic incident circulated by the international media.
The minister said, Bangladesh representative in the Embassy in Tripoli will oversee the situation there physically. The bodies will be brought back home, if recovered.” We came to know, primarily, there were 51 Bangladesh nationals among others on the boat,” ASM Ashraful Islam, Labour Counsellor of Bangladesh embassy in Tripoli said. He said also that 37 of them are still missing. Ashraful Islam said, they do not know yet whether there is any chance of rescuing more. He said, the rescue operation is still going on.
The Embassy is in touch with Red Crescent in Tunisia to know the details. We are yet to reach Tunisia. We hope to reach there soon.
Tunisia Red Crescent Chief Mongi Slim said on Saturday that around 75 migrants had left Libya’s Zouara by boat.
According to agency reports, most of the victims were Bangladesh nationals.
Mingo Slim said that 16 people were rescued by a Tunisian fishing boat and 14 of them were Bangladeshis.
He said those who were still missing are nationals of Bangladesh, Egypt, Morocco and unspecified countries in the sub-Saharan Africa.
At least 164 people hadbeen drowned in the first four months while crossing the sea from Libya to Europe, according to the UN.
The foreign minister said the government, amid the volatile situation there, has imposed full restriction on travelling to Libya considering the situation.
He said that the Bangladeshis went to Libya from other countries with a fake hope of reaching Europe for beetter income.
The minister stressed on collective tasks to stop people to take such a dangerous strips.
“We need a coordinated way to know whether people are going abroad in a valid way,” the minister said.
In April, Bangladesh embassy in Libya advised all Bangladeshi nationals living in Tripoli-and its adjacent cities to remain alert to avoid untoward incidents as the government of the country issued a state of alert in this regard.
