450 tourists in St Martin's Island evacuated

Some 450 tourists, who were stranded at St Martin's Island in Cox's Bazar due to inclement weather, were evacuated today.

A tourist ship, MV Baro Aulia, carried them from the island to the mainland of Teknaf in Cox's Bazar, reports our staff correspondent.

"Our ship left St Martin's Island this afternoon with the tourists and it anchored at Damdamia jetty of Teknaf mainland at around 6:00pm this evening safely," said Hossainul Islam Bahadur, director of MV Baro Aulia.

Operations of all types of water vessels on Teknaf-St Martin's route remained suspended on Saturday and Sunday due to low pressure over the Bay. As a result, the tourists were stranded on the island.

However, operations of water vessels resumed yesterday following the improvement in weather, said Md Adnan Chowdhury, Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO).

On Friday, a woman died after a speed boat capsised due to gusty wind and a strong surge in the Bay of Bengal near St Martin Island.

The coastguard team rescued 23 passengers, including 17 tourists, from the bay after the accident.