Bangladesh: Search for 17 fishermen after trawler sinks
Two Bangladesh naval ships and spotter plane deployed in search for fishermen missing after boat sinks in Bay of Bengal.
A major search is under way for 17 fishermen reported missing after an Indian trawler sank off the coast of Bangladesh.
Two Bangladesh Navy ships and a patrol aircraft were deployed on Saturday after a distress signal was sent from a ship travelling with the fishing boat that sank in the Bay of Bengal, officials said.
“Seventeen fishermen were missing after the trawler sank today,” Tapushi Rabeya, a Bangladesh Defence Ministry spokesman, told AFP.
Waters were choppy when the trawler sank in the bay around 40 nautical miles (70km) north of Hiron Point in the Sundarbans – the world’s largest mangrove forest that straddles the India-Bangladesh border.
Hiron Point docking station is popular among both fishermen and tourists.