2 fishermen dead, 2 missing as trawler sinks in Cox’s Bazar storm

Two fishermen have died and two others are missing after a fishing trawler sank during a storm in Cox’s Bazar.

The vessel went down on the western side of the Sonadia Channel in Moheshkhali around 3am on Thursday, according to Abdus Salam, chief of Moheshkhali Police Station.

The dead have been identified as Foyez Ahmed of the Khondkerpara area of Kutubjom Union and Saiful Islam of Meheriapara.

Two other fishermen, Nurul Alam and Mohib Ullah, remain missing.

Salam said some of the fishermen aboard the trawler managed to reach safety after it was caught in the storm, while others went missing.

The bodies of Foyez and Saiful were later recovered.

Local fishermen have launched a search for Nurul and Mohib.

Delowar Hossain, president of the Cox’s Bazar Fishing Boat Owners Association, identified the trawler as the “FB Tahsin”, owned by Farid Alam of Khondkerpara.

He said the vessel set out for sea on Tuesday night for a fishing trip.

According to Delowar, the trawler was caught in the storm after reaching the Nazirartek coastal area and capsized.

Local fishermen rushed to the area and began rescue and recovery efforts, eventually recovering the bodies of Foyez and Saiful from the water.

Didarul Islam Rubel, a local businessman in Nazirartek, said fishermen took their boats out to search for the crew after receiving news of the sinking.

Some of the fishermen were rescued alive, but Nurul and Mohib remained missing, he said.