15 dead, over 25 missing after fishing boat sinks in Bay of Bengal

A total of 15 people are confirmed dead while at least 25 more have gone missing after a wooden fishing boat capsized and sank in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Bangladesh on Tuesday, February 11.

The incident occurred at a point near Saint Martin’s Island just south of mainland Bangladesh on the morning (local time) of Tuesday.

Two vessels from the Bangladesh Navy and one from the Bangladesh Coast Guard later arrived at the scene to conduct search and rescue (SAR) operations. The responding vessels’ crews have been able to pull 71 survivors and 15 bodies from the water.

Bangladeshi authorities said that the 15 deceased individuals who have been recovered thus far were all women and children.

Navy and coast guard dive teams are continuing to scour the area for any sign of the more than 25 people who remain missing.

Although local police are still investigating the events surrounding the incident, some Bangladeshi officials believe the unnamed fishing boat was ferrying over 130 Rohingya Muslim refugees to Malaysia when it capsized.