Boat Sinks in Bay With 110 Job-Seekers

Today 2 dead bodies were found at Teknaf sea shore while 49 boat people remain missing. The coast guard filed case against 28 persons including 5 brokers (Dalal).

Survivors reach the shore

(DHAKA, Bangladesh) - A mechanized fishing boat, with 110 job-seekers on board headed for Malaysia, capsized in the Bay of Bengal near Moheskhalia at Teknaf In Bangladesh early Wednesday.

Fifty-one of the people were rescued and 10 of them are in the custody of Border Guard Bangladesh, officials said.

Fifty to 60 of them returned in other fishing boats and 50 more remained missing till the evening.

Earlier on October 28, another such boat with 129 people, many of whom were said to be Rohingyas from Myanmar, sank in the Bay south-west off St Martins Island. The job-seekers were headed for Malaysia. Jamir Hossain, 30, of Konapara at Sabrong who survived

Wednesday’s trawler capsize, at Kataboniya said that they were going to Malaysia seeking jobs with 110 people, including 20 to 30 Rohingyas, on board from Kataboniya of Sabrong in Teknaf on Tuesday afternoon.

At one point, the boat, which was overloaded, capsized in the Bay of Bengal near Maheskhalia about 4.30am on Wednesday.

‘We each paid Tk 22,000 to middlemen Nazir Ahmed, Md Ismail and Saro Hossain of Mazirpara at Sabrong,’ he added.

‘I was afloat in the bay holding a fuel container and a fishing boat rescued me,’ Jamir said. ‘Badal Company of Sabrong owned the boat and Raid Ullah was piloting it.’

The 42 BGB battalion commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Jahid Hossain, said, ‘We have rescued 11 out of 51 people who could travel back to the shore.’

‘The Coast Guard and the navy personnel are searching in sea for people fared missing,’ he added. The people the BGB rescued are Abdul Majid, 25, of Maungdaw in Myanmar, Jobair, 30, of Cox’s Bazar sadar, Mohammad Noor, 32, of Lamarpara at Teknaf, Jafar Alam, 35, Rahim Ullah, 32, Azam, 25, Abu Bakkar, 37, Gias uddin, 25, and Rashid Ahmed, 30, of Sabrong at Teknaf, Abul Kalam, 35, of Teknaf sadar and Raihan, 30, of Habirchara at Teknaf.

(Source: New Age on 8 November 2012)