300 fishermen go missing in Bay of Bengal
News Desk :
Some 300 fishermen of 20 fishing trawlers have gone missing in the deep sea of Bay of Bengal amid inclement weather due to cyclone Midhili.
This incident provoked anxiety in the community of fishermen.
Barguna District Trawler Owners Association President Mostafa Chowdhury confirmed this information on Friday morning.
According to the District Fishermen and Trawler Owners’ Association, around 1500 trawlers are used in Barguna to catch fish in the deep sea.
All the trawlers have returned to the shore due to the hostile weather but there is no trace of 20 trawlers.
Mostafa Chowdhury said: “300 fishermen including 20 fishing trawlers of Patharghata upazila are missing.
There is anxiety in the fishermen’s community over the disappearances. Search is underway to trace their location.”
District Commissioner Md Rafiqul Islam said: “I have learned about the disappearance of 20 trawlers along with the fishermen.
The Coast Guard, local administration and fisheries association have been directed to carry out their efforts to trace them.”
Earlier, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority halted river transport services across the country as Cyclone Midhili began to cross the southern coast near Khepupara.
All water vessels were asked to stop services at 10 am on Friday, said Dhaka River Port Joint Director Md Ismail Hossain, reports bdnews24.com.
River ports in Khulna, Jashore, Kushtia, Barishal, Patuakhali, Noakhali, Cumilla, Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar were asked to hoist river danger signal No. 3 from 9 am to 6 pm on Friday.
Some vessels left the Sadarghat river port for Chandpur in the morning but none left for the coastal district of Bhola.
On the other hand, Dhaka-bound launches, MV Afia, MV Shobar Tori-3, MV Eagle-7, and MV Boghdadia, left the Chandpur river port. Later, around 10:40 am, all launches ceased services, said River Route Inspector Shah Alam.
As the cyclonic storm approached the coast, the authorities issued danger signals for all maritime ports.
The Met Office asked the maritime ports of Payra and Mongla to hoist danger signal No. 7 and Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar to hoist No. 6.
The cyclone is expected to complete the crossing by Friday evening, according to the Met Office’s latest bulletin.
