Pirates loot 27 trawlers

35 crew injured, 9 abducted in Bay

28 July 2009, 17:00 PM

Our Correspondent, Barisal

Pirates looted 27 fishing trawlers in the Bay, injured 35crew and abducted nine fishermen on Sunday night. The abducted fishermen are Latif, 55, Sagir, 30, Kamal, 38, Salim, 32, Badal, 40, Nekber, 45, Hazrat Ali, 40, Hamayet Molla, 40 and Arif, 28. They all hail from Patharghat upazila of Barguna district. The pirates also demanded Tk 2.7 lakh as ransom for release of the nine fishermen, according to the crew who returned to Pathargata on Monday night. They said a gang of armed pirates swooped on the fishing trawlers in Khochikhali area of the Sunderbans, looted fishing nets and other valuables from the trawlers and beat up crew and fishermen. They further said the pirates later picked up nine fishermen at gunpoint and took them to deep forest as the fishermen failed to give them 2.7 lakh. Police quoted relatives of the victims as saying that the fishermen went to the Bay, taking permission from the forest department on Sunday night. They said the pirates have threatened to kill the fishermen if the ransom is not paid within a week.