35 swimmers set out to cross Bangla Channel

The group, including two women, set out from Teknaf to swim the 16.1km seaway to St Martin’s Island

Thirty-five swimmers, including two women, have begun an attempt to swim across the Bangla Channel, a stretch of water off the coast of Bangladesh known for its strong currents.

The swim began at 9:35am on Saturday from the western beach of Shah Porir Dwip in Teknaf and is expected to finish at the northern beach of St Martin’s Island.

The Bangla Channel forms part of the sea route between Teknaf and St Martin’s Island and measures about 16.1 kilometres.

This is the 19th time the event has been organised.

The swim was inaugurated by Cox’s Bazar District Sports Officer Alauddin and is being organised by Saroj Adventure as part of the government-backed Youth Festival, under the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Among the participants is Saiful Islam Russell, a former member of Dhaka University Central Students’ Union, who has previously crossed the Bangla Channel six times and completed a double crossing in 2021. In 2023, he finished first after completing the swim in three hours and 50 minutes.

Speaking ahead of the event, Saiful said he was attempting to win the crossing for a seventh time, despite what he described as challenging sea conditions.

Lipton Sarkar, chief executive of Saroj Adventure and widely known for completing multiple Bangla Channel crossings himself, said the swim was being conducted in line with international open-water swimming standards. He said safety arrangements included support boats and rescue personnel for each swimmer.

Organisers said the event aims to raise awareness about drowning prevention, promote adventure sports and help introduce the Bangla Channel to an international audience alongside Cox’s Bazar, home to the world’s longest natural sea beach.

The Bangla Channel swim was first attempted in 2006 under a plan devised by the late scuba diver and cinematographer Kazi Hamidul Haque. Since 2012, it has been listed as an international open-water long-distance swimming event.

The two women taking part this year are Ferdousi Akhtar, a student at Daffodil University, and Shohagi Akhtar, the first woman to have previously completed the Bangla Channel crossing.