Four fishermen die, one missing after trawler capsizes off Kutubdia

Four fishermen have died after a fishing trawler capsized in the Bay of Bengal off Kutubdia in Cox's Bazar amid rough weather. One fisherman remains missing, while seven others were rescued alive.

The incident occurred around 4:30am today (13 July) in deep waters off the Kutubdia coast.

Kutubdia Police Station Investigation Officer Mohammad Faruk Hossain said four bodies have so far been recovered from inside the sunken trawler.

He said the trawler was carrying 12 fishermen. Of them, seven were rescued alive, four were found dead and one remains missing.

Faruk Hossain said the trawler is believed to have sunk between 4am and 4:30am. It was recovered and brought ashore at Kutubdia around 9pm today, after which rescuers found the four bodies inside the vessel.

Kutubdia Fisheries Federation President Abul Kalam said the fishing trawler FB Fakira Masjid, owned by Nurul Absar of South Amjakhali in Boroghop Union, had gone to sea with 12 crew members to catch fish.

He said local fishermen rescued seven of the crew after the accident and continued searching for the missing fisherman. The location of the sunken trawler was identified later in the day.

Police said the recovered bodies were being taken to hospital, while search operations for the missing fisherman were continuing.

According to preliminary damage assessments by the Cox's Bazar district administration, the district received 823 millimetres of rainfall between 4 and 12 July. The heavy rainfall inundated 70 unions and four municipalities, leaving at least 250,000 people stranded.

Official data also show that 30 people, including 13 Rohingya refugees, died in landslides and flood-related incidents in the district during the same period. Authorities said the body of a previously missing person has since been recovered.