Boat Capsize: Bangladeshi death toll may rise

The number of Bangladeshis feared to have died off the Tunisian coast in Friday’s boat capsize may go up, said the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) based on the information communicated by the Tunisian Red Crescent.

“There has been reports suggesting that some 75 migrants were in the vessel bound for Italy. However, Tunisian Red Crescent yesterday informed that the number of people boarding the boat was 85 to 90,” said Imam Zafar Sikder, director of Restoring Family Links (RFL) department at BDRCS.

Also read: Shipwreck in Mediterranean: 37 Bangladeshis among the dead

Tunisian Navy and fishermen on Saturday rescued 16 survivors. Of them 14 were Bangladeshis. According to a previous estimation, 37 among 60 migrants feared dead in the incident were said to be Bangladeshis.

However, based on detail conversations with the survivors, the Tunisian Red Crescent yesterday came up with the new estimation, Zafar added.

Migrants who boarded a big ship from the Libyan coast of Zuara were transferred to a small boat that sank in the Mediterranean, some 65 kilometers off the Tunisian coast, several international media reported.

Syeda Abida Farheen, programme officer at RFL, said four Bangladeshi survivors were undergoing treatment at a hospital in Tunisia as they fell sick after the rescue.

Besides, five dead bodies have been recovered so far. Their identities could not be known yet, she said.

Meanwhile, the BDRCS obtained names of 27 Bangladeshis, who were feared dead in the capsize, from the survivors, said Zafar.

They are Nasir from Noakhali, Kamran from Tongi, Maruf and Ripon from Sylhet, Jalal Uddin and Al-Amin from Kishoreganj, Parvej and Kamrun Ahmed Maruf from Shariatpur, Shamim and Fahad from Moulvibazar, Sajib from Madaripur, Mahbub, Nadim and Mahbub from Sunamganj, Zillur Rahman, Limon Ahmed, Abdul Aziz, Ahmed, Zillur, Rafique, Ayat, Amajal, Kasim Ahmed, Khokan, Rubel, Monir and Belal.

They are mostly from Sylhet, Kishoreganj, Sunamganj and Shariatpur. Of the 14 survivors, six are from Shariatpur, he added.

The society has issued two hotline numbers for the relatives of the victims. The numbers are 0249354246 and 01811458521.

Some relatives have already contacted the BDRCS, which is verifying the names and identifies of those feared dead, he added.

He said BDRCS was coordinating with the Tunisian Red Crescent, Bangladesh Foreign Ministry and International Organisation for Migration to help the victims’ families by providing them with necessary information.

Meanwhile, Sk Sekander Ali, Bangladesh ambassador in Libya and ASM Ashraful Islam, labour counsellor of the Bangladesh embassy in the country, yesterday arrived in Tunisia to observe the situation and take required measures.

Libya, which has been in a civil war following the defeat of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, became a major transit for the migrants from the Middle East and African nations to reach Europe through the Mediterranean.

Human traffickers are taking advantage of the situation and luring people from different countries, including Bangladesh, with an easy access to Europe via Libya.

According to European Union, some 100,000 Bangladeshis reached EU between 2010 and 2017.

Meanwhile, our correspondent in Sylhet reported that Sylhet District Administration yesterday filed 23 cases against illegal travel agents in the district.

During the drives in Bandarbazar, Zindabazar, Jallarpar, Amberkhana and Uposohor areas, nine travel agents were arrested and fined a total of Tk 4,75,000, said Nasir Ullah Khan, additional district magistrate in Sylhet.

He told The Daily Star that such drives would be continued.

In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment said from now on district magistrates would conduct mobile courts to punish those involved in the process of illegal migration.