Bangladeshi man found in empty container in India's Visakhapatnam Port

A middle-aged Bangladeshi man has been found locked in an empty container which reached the Visakhapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh on a ship that started from Chittagong Port 12 days ago, Indian media reports say.

The reports have identified the man as Rohan Hossain, a Bangladeshi citizen, rescued on Wednesday in ‘an emaciated and badly dehydrated condition’.

He is currently undergoing treatment at the city's King George Hospital under police guard.

An official at Visakhapatnam's One Town Police Station on Thursday told bdnews24.com that the man was from Bikrampur of Munshiganj district.

"Hossain said he had entered the empty container at Chittagong Port. He will be sent back home after he recovers at hospital."

Hossain's interview was also aired in Andhra Pradesh's channel TV9 and leading Indian channel NDTV.

In the NDTV interview, he was heard as saying in broken Hindi, "I was stuck in the container. I got out of the container today after 12 days."

Asked about his profession, Hossain said he was an air-condition technician in Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital.

He also told TV9 that a man had asked him to get inside the container and lie down to avoid getting hurt when it would be moved to the ship.

"The man also told me to go to sleep after entering the container and said I would be able to get out after 12 days."

Hossain, however, did not elaborate on why he was at Chittagong Port in the first place.

The Hindu in a report said the empty container was booked by Visakhapatnam-based Samsara Shipping Company, the local agents for Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Company.

Quoting police officials, the report also said that Visakha Container Terminal Private Limited officials had found Hossain in an emaciated and badly dehydrated condition, when they opened the container following procedures.

A police officer said the man had appeared to be a labourer who apparently dozed off inside the container when it was loaded at Chittagong Port, reported the Hindu.

The officer also said that it did not seem to be a case of organised trafficking.

However, Chittagong Port Authority's Director (Security) Abdul Gaffar told bdnews24.com that they heard about the incident.

"This is mysterious. Why would go to India in a container? We are investigating the matter as well as maintaining contact with Visakhapatnam Port authorities."

On Jun 14, 2014, one Jasim Uddin, 19, was arrested from Chittagong Port's Jetty No. 13 and jailed for six months by a mobile court when he was trying to board a ship.

He was waiting inside an empty container at the jetty before attempting to get on the ship to go abroad.

In April 2011, two port workers named Deen Islam and Al Amin had gotten stuck inside an empty container at the port's yard. After a ship carrying the container arrived in Singapore, officials recovered Amin's body and rescued Islam alive.

Islam was brought back to Bangladesh in October that year.