67 missing as 10 trawlers capsize in Bay

-- 5 trawlers capsized in Patuakhali, 5 in Barguna

-- 25 fishermen rescued

-- 47 fishermen missing in Patuakhali, 20 in Barguna

-- One trawler salvaged in Patuakhali

At least 67 fishermen went missing after five trawlers capsized in the Bay of Bengal near Kuakata in Patuakhali and five others in Barguna early today.

Being caught in a sudden sea storm around 5:00am, five trawlers – FB Imran, FB Hasina-Samina, FB Raton, FB Habib, and FB Sobahan – sank around 50 kilometres south of Kuakata.

Ansar Uddin Molla, president of Alipur Fish Traders’ Association, confirmed this to our Patuakhali correspondent.

Other nearby trawlers salvaged one of the capsized trawlers, FB Imran, along with its 18 fishermen, and also seven fishermen from FB Hasina-Samina. Five fishermen from the latter vessel and at least 40 others from other three trawlers are still missing, Molla added.

In Barguna, at least 20 fishermen went missing as five trawlers sank in the sudden storm early today around 60 kilometers south of Patharghata in Barguna, said Golam Mostafa Chowdhury, president of Barguna Fishing Trawlers Owners’ Association.

The capsized trawlers were identified as FB Khan Jahan Ali, FB Abdullah, FB Sonai, FB Allah’r Dan and FB Mannan, Mostafa said.

“We sent separate trawlers in the Bay to search for the missing fishermen,” said Md Siddik, president of Patharghata upazila Majhee (Boatman) Association.

“We have no specific information on how many are missing, but we have already started rescue operation,” said Syed Abdur Rouf, station commander for Patharghata Coast Guard.