COX’S BAZAR, – At least 15 Rohingya people, including women and children died and 72 others were rescued when a trawler capsized in the Bay of Bengal near the Saint Martin’s island this morning, police said.

“The bodies of at least 15 Rohingyas were retrieved while 72 others were rescued alive after a Malaysia-bound trawler carrying them capsized in the
Bay of Bengal off the Saint Martin’s island at 8:30am,” Additional Superintendent of Police Md Iqbal Hossain said.

The trawler carrying Rohingya people left Teknaf for Malaysia at an unspecified time last night and sank off 15-km of the Saint Martin’s Island,
he said. How many people were in the trawler is yet to be known. But it is thought that the trawler capsized due to overcrowding.

On information, Bangladesh Coast Guard and Navy personnel rushed to the spot and launched a joint drive, Hossain said.

“Rescue efforts are going on. The naval ships are there along with the members of the Coastguard,” Lieutenant Commander Nayem ul Haque, in-charge of the Coastguard’s St Martin’s station, told BSS.