Boat full of boatpeople sinks in Bay of Bengal

Teknaf, Bangladesh: A Malaysia-bound trawler carrying some 110 boatpeople capsized near Shapuri Dip in the Bay of Bengal on December 14, in the early morning, said an elder from Shapuri Dip who denied to be named.  

However, all the passengers were rescued by fishing boats that were fishing in the Bay of Bengal, said Abbdu Rahim a survivor from Zaliya Para of Shapuri Dip. .

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Teknaf Police Station Mahbubul Haque said, "I have heard that a Malaysia-bound trawler has capsized. None has complained to me yet. We can't confirm the incident."

Survivors Mohammad Amin, Kala Meah and Tayub of Konna Para of Shapuri Dip said they were going to Malaysia with the help of local agents--- Firoz, Ismail, Sharif Hossain, Yunus, Dholu Hossain, Shabbir Hussain, Mohamed Alam, Abdul Hakim, Salim Ullah, Jaffar, Arof Ullah, and Salim.

“Three small boats from Shapuri Dip which can able to ferry 15 to 20 passengers per boat to a medium size engine boat which was anchored to the northern side of Shapuri Dip in the Bay of Bengal. After ferrying all the passengers to the said boat, it started along with 110 passengers to ferry again to another big vessel which was also anchored in the Bay of Bengal nearby Saint’s Martin Island. However, after a few moments, the boat sank in the Bay of Bengal because of over loading and entering water from the bottom of the boat. “

“When the passengers made hue and cry, nearby fishing boats rushed to the spot and rescued all of them. “ 

"There were Rohingyas and Bengalis among the passengers. So, we didn't know all of them," said a survivor.

Nevertheless, local people believe that about five passengers, may be died who were inside the boat, under deck (Folkha), but so far, local people did not find any dead body, said a local fisherman from Shapuri Dip. 

Illegal and risky journey by engine boats to Thailand or Malaysia has been a common happening in the area for the last couple of years. People take the journey in winter when the sea remains calm. The route runs through the Bay of Bengal to Thailand. From there, somebody who is actively looking for employment is taken to Malaysia over land, said a local businessman from Teknaf.

“Over the years, many boats capsized killing passengers. The Indian and Thai coast guards arrested many of the fortune-seekers. The Rohingya ethnic people of Arakan, Burma intruded into Bangladesh territory due to alleged persecution of Burmese junta.”

According to our reporter from Shapuri Dip, an engine boat along with 56 passengers (boatpeople) went to Malaysia today night from Shapuri Dip. This boat was managed by Moulvi Mujib from Teknaf, Jaffar and Nur Alam from Shapuri Dip. The diver (Maji) of the boat is another Nur Alam from Burma. 

The agents or brokers collected Kyat 30,000 before going to Malaysia or Thailand and after arriving at Malaysia the boat people have to pay Taka 70,000 per each, said a boat people who is survived.