Rohingya boat capsize: 11 more bodies wash ashore in Chittagong

Bangladesh Coast Guard and police recovered 11 more bodies on the shores of Sandwip upazila in Chittagong, four days after a group of Rohingya refugees went missing in the Bay of Bengal.

As of Wednesday, local law enforcement recovered the bodies of 18 people, presumably victims of the same group of Rohingyas whose trawler capsized Saturday due to bad weather in the sea as they tried to flee from Bashan Char.

Between Monday and Tuesday, police and the coast guard recovered six bodies—four women, one child and one man—after they washed up in the same area.

These bodies were recovered from Sarikait, Santoshpur, Bauria, Magadhara and other coastal areas of the upazila. 

Confirming the matter, Coast Guard East Zone Zonal Commander Captain Kazi Shah Alam, said: “The ocean tide washed ashore 11 more bodies, including six children, four women and one man, on Wednesday.” 

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Similar to prior bodies recovered, they are being taken to Bhashan Char for identification, he added.

“Instigated by unethical brokers, they tried to escape their accommodation in Bhashan Char by crossing the Bay of Bengal in a small boat, which is why such an accident occurred,” he also added.

Earlier on Sunday afternoon, the coast guard recovered the body of a 12-year-old child from 10 to 12 nautical miles south of Bhashan char after a trawler carrying around 40 Rohingya refugees capsized off the coast of Chittagong in the Bay of Bengal while fleeing from the Bhashan Char island early Saturday.

Some of them managed to save themselves by swimming to nearby fishing trawlers. 

Bangladesh Navy and the coast guard are still conducting rescue operations in the Bay of Bengal for the remaining victims.