Fishermen found dead in trawler freezer: 6 bodies handed over to relatives
Six bodies of fishermen have been handed over to their families and relatives after being recovered from a fishing trawler's freezer that washed ashore in the Naziratek area of Cox's Bazar on Sunday (23 April).
The police handed over these bodies to the relatives at the Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital morgue on Monday evening.
Speaking with The Business Standard, Superintendent of Police of Cox's Bazar Mohammad Mahfuzul Islam said a donation of Tk25,000 was provided to relatives of each of the deceased fishermen on behalf of the district administration.
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"The relatives and family members of the deceased fishermen came to the morgue of Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital from Maheshkhali and Chakaria and claimed to identify the 10 bodies," he said.
Earlier today, the police said that DNA tests will be conducted to properly identify the ten decomposed bodies found in the trawler.
"We will collect samples and send them out for DNA testing for confirmation in this regard. We then will hand over the bodies to their respective families," Mahfuzul said.
The deceased reportedly are – Samshul Alam, 23, Saiful Islam, 18, Sawkat Ullah, 18, Osman Gani, 17, Saifullah, 23, Parvez Mushaof, 14, Nurul Kabir, 28, Saiful Islam, 34, Mohammad Shahjahan, 35, and Tarek Zia, 25.
Some of the deceased, who were identified by their families and relatives, are residents of the district's Maheshkhali and Chakaria areas.
"We had heard that a group of people went fishing in the deep sea some 10-12 days ago, or that's what they told their families, but did not return home. However, there was no official complaint filed.
"After we identify the deceased, we will be able to investigate and say more about what had actually happened," the SP said when asked why the fishermen were killed.
The trawler, from which all the dead bodies were recovered by the fire service and police, reportedly belongs to Shamsul Alam of Chankhola Para village of Hoanak union under Maheshkhali upazila.
