In a boost to local exports, wooden houses crafted in a remote village of Bagerhat will be shipped to Belgium, creating new avenues for foreign currency earnings and generating employment opportunities in the region. Constructed entirely from wood, including their framework, walls, doors, windows, and roofs, these boat-shaped houses are opening up new international markets. Mostafiz Ahmed, an entrepreneur behind Natural Fiber that is spearheading this initiative from Bagerhat’s BSCIC industrial city, believes that with government support, this venture could expand significantly. Earlier this year, a Belgian eco park placed an order for 120 eco-friendly wooden houses, made from sustainable materials. Mostafiz Ahmed shared with UNB’s Bagerhat correspondent that the order from the Belgian eco park is to be fulfilled within two years. The agreement stipulates that the houses must be made from local mahogany wood, with all materials being biodegradable. The wood is sourced from nearby areas, ensuring sustainability. A visit to Natural Fiber’s factory in the remote Karori village in Bagerhat revealed a bustling scene where workers were diligently constructing the wooden houses. Some workers focused on building doors and windows, others on assembling frames, and another group on crafting walls. The final step involves meticulous painting and polishing, resulting in aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly houses. The houses, initially constructed as single units measuring 11 meters in length and 4.25 meters in width, are then divided into smaller sections for easier transportation. These sections can be easily assembled at any location. Carpenter Mojahid explained that they received training before beginning the construction. After completing the design, the houses undergo approval by both the company and foreign representatives. The workers are now operating at full capacity, with each house taking about a week to complete, weather permitting. The project employs around 200 workers.  

“Italy here we come!” cheered the young men, in Urdu and Pashto, as they filmed themselves standing on a boat sailing in bright blue waters. They were among around 180 migrants — Afghans, Pakistanis, Syrians, Iranians, Palestinians, Somalis and others — who left Turkey hoping for a better, or simply safer, life in Europe. Days later, dozens of them were dead. So far, 70 bodies have been recovered from the Feb. 26 shipwreck near the small beach town of Steccato di Cutro, but only 80 survivors have been found, indicating that the death toll was higher. On Sunday, firefighter divers spotted a further body in the Ionian Sea and were working to bring it ashore, state TV said. The tragedy has highlighted the lesser-known migration route from Turkey to Italy. It also brought into focus hardening Italian and European migration policies, which have since 2015 shifted away from search and rescue, prioritizing instead border surveillance. Questions are also being asked of the Italian government about why the coast guard wasn’t deployed until it was too late. Also Read: Migrant boat breaks up off Italian coast, killing nearly 60 Based on court documents, testimony from survivors and relatives and statements by authorities, the AP has reconstructed what is known of the events that led to the shipwreck and the questions left unanswered. ___ THE FATEFUL JOURNEY In the early hours of Wednesday, Feb. 22, the migrants — including dozens of families with small children — boarded a leisure boat on a beach near Izmir following a truck journey from Istanbul and a forest crossing by foot. They set out from the shore. But just three hours into their voyage, the vessel suffered an engine failure. Still in high seas, an old wooden gulet — a traditional Turkish style of boat — arrived as a replacement. The smugglers and their assistants told the migrants to hide below deck as they continued on their journey west. Without life vests or seats, they crammed on the floor, going out for air, or to relieve themselves, only briefly. Survivors said the second boat also had engine problems, stopping several times along the way. Three days later, on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 10:26 p.m. a European Union Border and Coast Guard plane patrolling the Ionian sea spotted a boat heading toward the Italian coast. The agency, known as Frontex, said the vessel “showed no signs of distress” and was navigating at 6 knots, with “good” buoyancy. Frontex sent an email to Italian authorities at 11:03 p.m. reporting one person on the upper deck and possibly more people below, detected by thermal cameras. No lifejackets could be seen. The email also mentioned that a satellite phone call had been made from the boat to Turkey. In response to the Frontex sighting, the case was classified as an “activity of the maritime police”. Italy’s Guardia di Finanza, or financial police, which also has a border and customs role, dispatched two patrols to “intercept the vessel.” As the Turkish boat approached Italy’s Calabrian coast on Saturday evening, some of the migrants on the boat were allowed to message family, to inform them of their imminent arrival and release the 8,000-euro fee that had been agreed upon with the smugglers. The men navigating the boat told the anxious passengers they needed to wait a few more hours for disembarkation, to avoid getting caught, according to survivors’ testimony to investigators. At 3:48 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26, the financial police vessels returned to base, without having reached the boat due to bad weather. The police contacted the coast guard to ask if they had any vessels out at sea “in case there was a critical situation” according to communication obtained by the Italian ANSA agency and confirmed by AP. The coast guard replied they did not. “OK, it was just to inform you,” a police officer said before hanging up. Just minutes later, at around 4 a.m., local fishermen on Italy’s southern coast spotted lights in the darkness. People were waving their cell phone flashlights desperately from atop a boat stuck on a sand bank. The suspected smugglers grabbed black tubes, possibly life jackets, and jumped into the water to save themselves, according to survivors. Waves continued smashing into the vessel until it suddenly ripped apart. The sound was similar to that of an explosion, survivors said. People fell into the frigid water, trying to grab onto anything they could. Many could not swim. Italian police arrived on the scene at 4:30 a.m., the same time that the coast guard says it received the first emergency calls related to the boat. It took the coast guard another hour to get there. By then, bodies were already being pulled out of the water with people screaming for help while others attempted to resuscitate the victims. ___ THE YOUNG VICTIMS There were dozens of young children on board the boat. Almost none survived. The body of a 3-year-old was recovered Saturday. Among those who lived was a Syrian father and his eldest child, but his wife and three other children did not. The body of his youngest, age 5, was still missing four days later. Shahida Raza, an athlete from Pakistan, died in the tragedy. She had hoped to reach Europe so that she could eventually bring her disabled son for the medical treatment he could not access back home. One Afghan man drove down from Germany, searching for his 15-year-old nephew who had contacted family saying he was in Italy. But the boy also died before setting foot on land. The uncle asked that his name, and that of his nephew not be published as he had yet to inform the boy’s father. The baby-faced teenager had shared a video with his family during his sea voyage, with apparently good weather. His mother had died two years ago, and with the return of the Taliban to power, the family fled to Iran. The boy later continued to Turkey from where he tried multiple times to cross into the EU. “Europe is the only place where at least you can be respected as a human being,” he said. “Everyone knows that it is 100% dangerous, but they gamble with their lives because they know if they make it they might be able to live.” ___ THE AFTERMATH Prosecutors have launched two investigations — one into the suspected smugglers and another looking at whether there were delays by Italian authorities in responding to the migrant boat. A Turkish man and two Pakistani men, among the 80 survivors, have been detained, suspected of being smugglers or their accomplices. A fourth suspect, a Turkish national, is on the run. Particular attention has been focused on why the coast guard was never sent to check on the boat. A day after the shipwreck, Frontex told AP it had spotted a “heavily overcrowded” boat and reported it to Italian authorities. In a second statement, though, Frontex clarified that only one person had been visible on deck but that its thermal cameras — “and other signs” — indicated there could be more people below. In an interview with AP, retired coast guard admiral Vittorio Alessandro said the coast guard’s boats are made to withstand rough seas and that they should have gone out. “If not to rescue, at least to check whether the boat needed any assistance.” Alessandro added that the photos released by Frontex showed the water level was high, suggesting the boat was heavy. The coast guard said Frontex alerted Italian authorities in charge of “law enforcement,” copying the Italian Coast Guard “for their awareness” only. Frontex said it is up to national authorities to classify events as search and rescue. “The issue is simple in its tragic nature: No emergency communication from Frontex reached our authorities. We were not warned that this boat was in danger of sinking,” Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday. “I wonder if there is anyone in this nation who honestly believes that the government deliberately let over 60 people die, including some children,” she added. Alessandro, however, lamented how over the years the coast guard’s activities — which previously occurred even far out in international waters — have been progressively curtailed by successive governments. “Rescue operations at sea should not be replaced by police operations. Rescue must prevail,” he said. In an interview with AP, Eugenio Ambrosi, chief of staff at the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration, stressed the need for a more proactive search and rescue strategy, on a European level. “We can look and debate whether the (boat) was spotted, not spotted, whether the authorities were called and didn’t respond,” he said. “But we wouldn’t be asking this question if there was a mechanism of search and rescue in the Mediterranean.”

Three migrants died and 16 others were rescued off the Greek island of Lesbos on Tuesday after a dinghy transporting them from the nearby coast of Turkey hit rocks in high winds, authorities said. The coast guard said the three bodies were recovered off the eastern coast of the island, adding that a rescue effort involving two patrol boats, a helicopter and ground crews was underway to search for others possibly missing. None of the people on the dinghy had been given life jackets. The tragedy in the eastern Aegean Sea occurred two days after four children and a woman died when a boat carrying more than 40 migrants smashed into rocks on island of Leros.    

A fisherman was killed and another suffered injuries as a launch hit their fishing boat in the Meghna River in Bhola early Saturday. The deceased was identified as Md Kamal Jomaddar, 40, son of Aziz Jomaddar of Kondokpur village in Rajapur union of the upazila. The injured is Yusuf, son of Jasim Dhali of the same area. Locals said a launch hit their boat while they were fishing in the Meghna River of Rajapur union in the early hours of Saturday. Yusuf managed to swim ashore but Kamal went missing. Read: Death toll from Karatoa boat capsize rises to 68 On information, Coast Guard members started a rescue operation in the area and recovered the body of Kamal around 2pm today, said the Coast Guard’s South Zone Media Officer Lieut. KM Shafiul Kinzel. The dead body will be handed over to the family of the deceased following due process, Shafiul added.    

Four women were killed after their boat capsized in Gungiajuri Haor in Bahubal upazila of Habiganj Wednesday following a storm. The boat capsized near village Rawail at 6:45pm as they went to relatives' house in village Snanghat to invite them to a wedding, Rakibul Islam Khan, office-in-charge (OC) of Bahubal Police Station, said. The deceased were bride Trina's mother Zarina Begum, 45, her aunt Ledi Begum, 60, Ayatunnesa, 50, and Hur Banu, 55. They were all residents of village Shikarpur, Habiganj Sadar upazila, Rakibul said. Read: Kishoreganj boat capsize: 3 bodies recovered   On their way back, the boat carrying them capsized. Although locals managed to rescue four people to safety, including a child, they could only fish out the bodies of the four women, the OC said.

A man went missing after a boat capsized in the Dhangoda river in Chandpur district on Friday , police said on Saturday. The missing man was identified as Hazrat Ali, 38, a boatman and a resident of Kawadi Nandanpur village of Daudkandi upazila (Cumilla). According to police, the brick-laden boat capsized in the river at Nandalalpur  around 5.30 pm on Friday. READ: Onrush of upstream water threatens Chandpur town protection embankment Locals said that the boat sank in the river as strong wave hit it while a speeding trawler was crossing the area.  He managed tosave his 4-year old son Hasib and 10-year old nephew Imran before he drowned. Officer-in-charge of Matlab Uttar Police Station Md. Shahjahan Kamal said that fire service divers have been conducting a rescue operation since Friday night but couldn’t find  his body yet. 

A 17-year old boy went missing as a boat sank in the Karnaphuli River after collision with a fishing trawler on Saturday night. The missing boy was identified as Md Shohag, son of Md Karim from Cumilla. Also read:Nor’wester in Bhola: Bulkhead sinks in Meghna When the small boat was crossing the river from Marine Fisheries Terminal of south bank it collided with an anchored trawler named FV Pertex-1 and sank. All but Shohag managed to swim ashore. Also read:2 farmers go missing as trawler sinks in Padma A diving team and river police conducted search operation, said ABM Mizanur Rahman, Officer-in-Charge of Shdarghat River police station. Shohag was returning to the port city with his father from Karnaphuli area, he said.

Police have recovered the body of a man who went missing after a boat capsized in Kharil Beel (canal) of Sylhet Sadar upazila’s Jalalabad union. The deceased has been identified as Ashkandar Ali, a resident of Putamara village. OC Nazmul Huda Khan of Jalalabad Police Station said that locals spotted the body floating in the canal and informed police on Monday afternoon. Later police recovered the body. Another person, Razzakh Ali, resident of Rayer Gao village is still missing, he said. READ: Trawler capsizes off Chandpur The incident occurred on Sunday night at around 10.30 pm. Obaidullah Ishaq, chairman of the Jalalabad union, said that eight people were returning home by boat at night. The boat capsized due to a storm. Six of them were rescued but two were still missing. The capsized boat was recovered at around 11 am on Monday. Fire service divers are conducting the search operation, he said

A small Mexican tour boat hit a whale or a whale shark off the Baja California Sur coastal city of La Paz, injuring a half dozen people, authorities said Saturday. The state civil defense office posted a video clip showing the open boat, which had an awning, hit something in the open water. The boat careens out of the water with sufficient force to throw at least one passenger through the awning and possibly off the vessel. READ: Tour boat captain not to blame in deadly Danube crash The office said three children aboard the craft suffered light injuries, but two adults were hospitalized after the accident, which occurred Friday. The office said another person aboard the craft was taken by navy personnel to a clinic for treatment. Mexican regulations require boats involved in whale watching to stay a safe distance from the creatures, but the boat involved in Friday's incident did not appear to be engaged in whale watching — or watching out for whales. The civil defense office said the accident is under investigation. The video, and the leap the boat made after hitting the creature, suggest it was going at a high rate of speed.

The Japanese Coast Guard said Sunday that rescue helicopters found seven of the 26 people from a tour boat missing in the frigid waters of northern Japan since the day before, but their conditions are unknown. Rescuers found four people near the tip of Shiretoko Peninsula earlier Sunday and then three more people in the same area a few hours later, but the coast guard said it could not confirm whether they were rescued alive. NHK public television said they were unconscious. The coast guard said all seven people were found in the same area near the tip of the peninsula north of where the boat sent a distress call on Saturday. The location is known as a difficult place to maneuver boats because of its rocky coastline. The same tour boat had an accident there last year. Footage on NHK showed one of the rescued people arriving on a helicopter and being transferred to an ambulance on a stretcher, while rescuers held up blue plastic shields for privacy. The boat carrying 24 passengers, including two children, and two crew members had gone missing after sending a distress call, saying it took on water and was beginning to sink. Sunday’s rescue came after nearly 19 hours of intense search involving six patrol boats, several aircraft and divers. The coast guard said the search continued through the night. The 19-ton Kazu 1 made an emergency call in the early afternoon on Saturday, saying the ship’s bow had flooded and it was beginning to sink and tilt while traveling off the western coast of Shiretoko Peninsula on the northern island of Hokkaido, the coast guard said. The tour boat has since lost contact, according to the coast guard. Nineteen people are still missing. Average April sea temperatures in Shiretoko National Park are just above freezing. An official for the vessel’s operator, Shiretoko Pleasure Cruise, said he could not comment because he had to respond to calls from worried families of the passengers. READ: Tour boat with 26 missing in north Japan after distress call Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who was attending a two-day summit in Kumamoto in southern Japan, canceled his program for the second day and returned to Tokyo. He told reporters in the early hours of Sunday that he instructed officials “to do everything they can for the rescue.” The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but experts suspect the boat ran aground and was damaged in rough seas in an area known for strong currents and a rocky coastline. High waves and strong winds were observed in the area around noon, according to a local fisheries cooperative. Japanese media reports said fishing boats had returned to port before noon because of the bad weather. NHK said there was a warning for high waves of up to 3 meters (9 feet). A tour boat crew belonging to another operator told NHK that he warned of rough seas when he spotted the Kazu 1 crew and told them not to go. He said the same boat went aground last year and suffered a crack on its bow. The coast guard confirmed that the same boat went aground in the area last June, though nobody was injured in that accident. Yoshihiko Yamada, a Tokai University marine science professor, said the boat was likely to have run aground after it was tossed around in high waves and damaged, flooded and probably sank. A tour boat of that size usually does not carry a life boat, and passengers possibly could not escape a rapidly sinking vessel with its windows likely closed to shield them from strong winds. In an interview with TBS television, Yamada said there was also a slight possibility the boat could have been hit by a whale. The cold temperature and strong wind could cause hypothermia and put the passengers in severe conditions for survival, according to Jun Abe, vice chairman of the Society of Water Rescue and Survival Research. “It’s a very severe condition especially when they are wet,” Abe told TBS. According to the operator’s website, the tour takes around three hours and offers scenic views of the western coast of the peninsula and includes potential sightings of animals such as whales, dolphins and brown bears. The national park is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site and is famous as the southernmost region to see drifting sea ice.