Thirteen trawlers sank in the Bay of Bengal off Saint Martin's island in Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar, as the sea is very rough due to the inclement weather triggered by Cyclone Sitrang.
Mojibur Rahman, chairman of Saint Martin's union, said 13 trawlers wsank in the bay around 11 am and the whereabouts of seven trawlers could not be traced yet.
However, it is not clear how many people went missing due to the incident, althoughna number of people managed to swim ashore, said Mojibur.
Meanwhile, the local administration has started evacuation work in a bid to move 11,500 people from the coastal areas of the district as 576 cyclone centers were opened to accommodate the residence of the coastal areas, said Mamun-Ur-Rashid, deputy commissioner Cox’s Bazar district.