8 fishermen missing as trawler capsizes in Bay

Eight fishermen went missing after a trawler capsized off the Chattogram coast in the Bay of Bengal yesterday.

The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon when another fishing vessel hit the trawler, said Coast Guard officials.

There were 19 fishermen aboard the capsized trawler.

While 11 were rescued by a nearby boat, eight others remained missing, said Lt Shakib Mehbub, media officer of Coast Guard (East Zone).

Md Miraj, owner of the fishing trawler, told The Daily Star around 5:00pm today, "Around 12:00pm Thursday, 19 fishermen set out from Chattogram Fishery Ghat for a fishing trip in the Bay of Bengal. The accident occurred at around 1:30pm."

Four of the missing have been identified as Abul Bashar, Jamal Uddin, Md Faruk and Md Idris, he added.

Coast Guard's Lt Shakib said that they launched a rescue operation after the trawler's owner informed them of the incident this morning.