Rohingya trawler capsize in Naf: Body of missing BGB member recovered
With this, the death toll from the incident now stands at seven
The body of a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) member has been recovered from the sea, 30 hours after he went missing while trying to rescue Rohingya refugees whose trawler capsized in the Naf River on its way to Bangladesh from Myanmar.
The trawler had capsized near the Poshchim Para ghat of Shah Porir Dwip, under Sabrang union in Teknaf, after developing a leak in the wee hours of yesterday (22 March).
Last night, the bodies of six Rohingyas, including three women and one child, were recovered from the Damdamia estuary of Teknaf.
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The body of the missing BGB member, identified as Sepoy Mohammad Belal, 28, was recovered from the Shah Porir Dwip Poshchim Para beach point at around 12:15pm today (23 March), confirmed the union parishad's Ward-7 Member Abdul Mannan.
Lt Col Mohammad Ashiqur Rahman, BGB's Teknaf-2 Battalion Commanding Officer, also confirmed the recovery of the missing BGB member's body.
"The body was retrieved from the sea near Shah Porir Dwip and later sent to the Cox's Bazar District Sadar Hospital morgue," he said.
With this, the death toll from the incident now stands at seven.
Belal, who was from Cumilla, was stationed at the Shah Porir Dwip Border Outpost.
While reports suggest that Belal was carrying a Chinese rifle and four magazines filled with bullets at the time of his disappearance, authorities have yet to confirm whether the firearms have been recovered.
After the trawler went down, BGB rescued 25 Rohingyas, while several others, including Belal, went missing.
The survivors had claimed the trawler had around 60 people on board. Authorities have yet to confirm the exact number of people still unaccounted for.
Mannan said that since the trawler capsized in the Naf River, BGB, Bangladesh Coast Guard, and local fishermen had been conducting a continuous search operation for the missing individuals.
"On Sunday morning, a floating body was spotted in the sea near Shah Porir Dwip West Para beach. Later, a team from the Coast Guard and BGB retrieved the body and brought it to shore at around 12:15pm," he said.
Search operations are continuing in the Naf River and the surrounding sea to locate any remaining missing individuals.
