Coastguard officials believe that the Rohingya were on their way to Malaysia illegally.
(Photo: IANS)
At least 15 people were killed after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees capsized in the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday, according to the Bangladesh Coastguard.
The accident took place 10 km northwest of St Martin’s Island.
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Lieutenant Commander Nayem ul Haque, chief of the Coastguard’s St Martin’s station said, “Sixty-two people have been rescued”, bdnews24.com said in a report
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“Rescue efforts are ongoing. The naval ships are there with the members of the Coastguard,” Haque further added.
Coastguard officials believe that the Rohingya were on their way to Malaysia illegally.
Last year, in September, at least 10 members of a wedding party were dead after a boat they were travelling in capsized in Bangladesh’s Sunamganj district.
The boat capsized in the wetland, known as Kaliakutha haor. It carried onboard dozens of wedding party guests and overturned under inclement weather.
In 2017, four Rohingya migrants were killed after a boat carrying them capsized off the coast of Bangladesh close to its border with Myanmar.
Nearly 200 Rohingya have drowned since August 29 in over two dozen boat capsizes while trying to flee from conflict-hit Myanmar.
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