19 fishers rescued in the Bay

Members of the coast guard have rescued 19 fishermen along with a fishing trawler from the deep sea of Cox's Bazar yesterday.

After floating in the Bay of Bengal for five days, 19 crew members of the trawler were rescued from 22.5 nautical miles away from the coast of Cox's Bazar around 11:30am, said officials.

"There was no other trawler around them in the deep sea. There was no mobile network. The position of the trawler could not be detected as it did not have a GPS device. The trawler with 19 fishermen was recovered after a 28-hour operation in the sea," said Coast Guard Teknaf Station Commander Lt Commander HM Lutful Lahil Majid.

They were given first aid and food. The owner of the fishing trawler was contacted in this regard.

Mohammad Jashim, one of the crew members, said on April 23, the fishing trawler named FV "Sajib-1" with 19 fishermen from Manpura area of Bhola district went to the deep sea for fishing. At one stage, while catching fish, the trawler's propeller broke and fell into the sea on April 25.

Since then, the engine stopped working and the trawler has been drifting in the deep sea. He also said there was water all around, and the shores were not visible from the deep sea.

"After floating in the sea for five days, suddenly they found mobile network last night [Friday]. Then we called the emergency service 999," he said.