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Published : 13 Jul 2013, 05:32 AM
11 missing as cargo ship ‘sinks’ off Phuket
One more survivor found after 36 hours
Three more Hope crew return Thursday
Three more crew members of Bangladeshi cargo vessel MV Hope, that capsized off the Phuket coast earlier in July, returned home on Thursday.
They are Deck Cadets Rayekh Fairooz, Abu Bakar Siddiqui, and Engine Cadet Mushfikur Rahman.
Nine of them have been rescued and bodies of two others recovered. Six others are still missing.
The missing sailors are Captain Rajib Chandra Karmakar, Nezam Uddin, Sadim Ali, Mohammad Nasir, Ali Hossain, and Nasir Uddin.
Five of those rescued were brought to Chittagong by German cargo ship MV Buxmoon on July 7.
Fairooz, who hails from Khulna, lives in the capital Dhaka’s Mirpur and Siddiqui in Chittagong’s Sandwip.
bdnews24.com Staff Correspondent Ashik Hossain and Photojournalist Tanvir Ahmed Sajib caught up with them at Chittagong ship owners’ P&I office in the city’s Banglamotor.
Fairooz and Siddiqui shared their July 3 night experience.
bdnews24.com: How are you feeling?
Rayekh Fairooz: Better, by the grace of Allah. We had received medical attention at a Thai hospital. I have slight pain in my neck, a fracture. Everything else is fine.
Abu Bakar Siddiqui: I’m recovering by Allah’s grace. I have pain in my head and hand.
bdnews24.com: When did you start your journey?
Rayekh Fairooz: We set sail on Jul 2 from Malaysia’s Lumut Port and the accident happened around midnight the following day.
bdnews24.com: How many of you were onboard the vessel?
Rayekh Fairooz: There were 17 of us but the lifeboat had a capacity of 24 persons.
bdnews24.com: What happened that fateful night?
Rayekh Fairooz: The ship suddenly slanted towards one side after midnight. It continued to tilt, forcing us to shut the engine. Power supply was also cut.
Our Captain had tried to take the vessel closer to shore and anchor at a safe position. But it was not possible due to rough weather, strong wind and thunderstorm.
It was stormy. We lowered the life raft and jumped on it to save ourselves. Only 12 of us could get on the raft. The rest, including me, couldn’t.
Abu Bakar Siddiqui: I got on the life raft but those who couldn’t, the remaining five, were drifted away by the current.
bdnews24.com: How were you rescued?
Rayekh Fairooz: We were rescued in different fashions. There was a ship behind ours. Our life raft turned turtle when the ship came to our rescue. Only five could be rescued, the rest went missing. These five crew members came to Chittagong later on that ship. A helicopter rescued him (pointing to Abu Bakar Siddiqui) the following day from a life raft.
I was rescued two days later by another ship, MV Bux Lagoon. It rescued Mushfiq (Engine Cadet Mushfikur Rahman) the same day, two days after the accident.
bdnews24.com: How did you survive?
Rayekh Fairooz: We were on water for two days, without food and water. I was in a buoy with a Second Officer. The ship that found us threw another buoy and pulled me up. They later transferred me a Navy ship and from there, I was flown to a Phuket hospital.
bdnews24.com: What do you think caused the accident?
Rayekh Fairooz: We are not sure about the reason. The ship tilted to its side by nearly 30 degrees. It was not exactly a technical glitch. The cause might come out through a high-level investigation.
bdnews24.com: What were you carrying?
Rayekh Fairooz: The cargo was ceramic and its raw material, called clay ball. We were carrying it back to Chittagong Port from Malaysia’s Lumut Port.
