7 missing as 2 vessels sink in Bay

Seven crewmembers went missing after two vessels capsized in the Bay of Bengal near Kutubdia channel early yesterday.
MV Titu-21 and MV Titu-22 sank with 2,700 tonnes of cement clinker when MV RAMSI -- a heavier vessel -- hit those 10.65 nautical miles (app 20km) off Kutubdia Light House around 12:30am, said sources in the Chittagong Port.
The two ships capsized with six out of their 26 crew. The rest managed to escape.
The other missing crewmember is from MV Titu-16, another light vessel, which was also hit by RAMSI. Titu-16 was partly damaged.
Captain Habibur Rahman, principal officer of Mercantile Marine Department (MMD), suspects the accident happened due to fog and darkness.
Abul Khair Group is the owning company of the ships, which imported the cement clinker for Shah Cement factory.
Several vessels started the rescue operation immediately after the ships capsized, said Abul Kashem, Manager of Litmond Shipping, the shipping agent of Abul Khair Group.
Members of Bangladesh Coast Guard and Bangladesh Navy also joined the rescue effort, he added.
Movement of vessels through the channel, however, was normal, said Syed Farhad Uddin Ahmed, secretary of Chittagong Port Authority.
A two-member committee headed by MMD Engineer Sirajul Islam has been formed to investigate the accident.