Eleven fishermen have been rescued while two remain missing after a fishing vessel named “FB Jannat-Junayeed” capsized in the rough Bay of Bengal on Tuesday morning while returning to the coast.
The accident occurred at around 8am in the Bay of Bengal, approximately 25 kilometres off the Kuakata sea beach in Patuakhali district. The incident was confirmed at 6pm on Tuesday by Taltali Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Atish Sarker.
Departure and incident
According to upazila administration sources, the trawler “FB Jannat-Junayeed” — jointly owned by Al-Amin and Golam Rabbi of Swadagar Para in Barabagi Union under Taltali Upazila — set sail into the Bay of Bengal with 13 fishermen on Saturday night from the Mohipur Fish Landing Centre in Patuakhali district.
As weather conditions deteriorated and the sea became rough on Monday, the fishermen turned back towards the shore. On Tuesday morning, when the vessel reached 25 kilometres off Kuakata beach, it overturned and sank under the impact of violent waves.
Following the capsizing, another fishing trawler operating nearby spotted the floating fishermen and rescued 11 of them. They were safely brought back to shore, while two fishermen remained missing.
Rescued and missing fishermen
Of the 11 rescued fishermen, six are residents of Taltali Upazila (Barguna district), four are from Kalapara Upazila (Patuakhali district), and one is from Khulna district.
The two missing fishermen have been identified as, Md Rakib, 19, son of Md Monir Hossain, from the Bara Bhaijora area of Barabagi Union in Taltali Upazila and Md Nabi Hossain, 45, son of Hormuz Ali Howlader, from the Pawapara area of Nishanbaria Union in Taltali Upazila.
Describing the accident, co-owner and rescued fisherman Md Al-Amin said, “The trawler suddenly capsized due to the force of the massive waves. Eleven of us managed to swim out, but two were trapped inside the cabin. A passing trawler later spotted us floating in the sea and rescued us, but due to the extremely rough sea conditions, it was not immediately possible to rescue the two trapped fishermen.”
Search and rescue operations
Taltali UNO Atish Sarker said that adverse weather caused the accident. He assured that necessary initiatives are being taken to locate the missing men and that local authorities are monitoring the well-being of the rescued fishermen.
Assistance from the Bangladesh Navy and the Bangladesh Coast Guard is being sought to conduct search operations.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Fishermen Trawler Owners’ Association President Golam Mostafa Chowdhury confirmed that two association trawlers were dispatched to the area upon receiving the news.
However, neither the sunken trawler nor the location of the missing fishermen has been identified yet.
