3 Rohingyas dead, 35 rescued after boat sinks off Teknaf

News Desk :
Rescue workers have recovered the bodies of three Rohingya women after a trawler illegally ferrying refugees to Malaysia sank off the coast of Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf.
The bodies were found in Baharchhara Union’s Harmunia area around 12:45 pm on Tuesday, according to Commander Md Delwar Hossain, commander of the Coast Guard’s Baharchhara Outpost, reports bdnews24.com
As many as 39 people, including 35 Rohingya, were rescued after the boat capsized in the deep sea.
The survivors — four of whom are Bangladeshi nationals — include five women.
However, the authorities could not confirm the total number of Rohingya who were making the illegal voyage.
Residents of Harmunia noticed a few Rohingya swimming to shore and alerted the authorities about the matter, according to Delwar. Coast Guard personnel subsequently went to their aid and initially rescued 30 Rohingya. Nine others were later pulled out of the sea.
“The trawler carrying the Rohingya sank en route to Malaysia. Afterwards, they just kept floating in the sea. They didn’t even seek help from the fishing trawlers and boats nearby. “Later, many of the Rohingya swam ashore with the help of the buoys and water barrels thrown by fishermen.” In the afternoon, the bodies of three Rohingya women floated up and were recovered, Delwar said. Asked whether the four Bangladeshi survivors were traffickers, he said, “That may well be the case. We are trying to verify their identities.”