The bodies of 11 Rohingyas out of more than 40 who tried to escape by boat from Bhasan Char have been recovered, according to naval police officials. The engine-boat on which Rohingya men, women with children were trying to flee from Noakhali’s Bhasanchar drowned in the deep-sea Friday night. It was learned that 15 people were rescued after the incident, 11 bodies were recovered till Tuesday afternoon and 15 were still missing. Coast Guard, navy and police have been conducting operations to recover the bodies since Saturday. READ: Rohingya children must be educated in their own language: FM  Bhasanchar police officer in charge (OC) Rafiqul Islam told UNB that 41 Rohingya refugees including women and children, fled from different clusters of the Bhasanchar refugee camp in Hatia upazila of Noakhali around 11 pm on Friday in an engine-driven fishing trawler for Chattogram. The trawler sank into Bay of Bengal 20 km from Bhasanchar, at the area between Chittagong and Hatia upazila, at around 1:30 am due to a storm. “A fishing trawler rescued 14 Rohingyas from the spot and took them back to the Bhasanchar Rohingya refugee camp on Saturday morning. Another missing Rohingya named Abdur Rahman (35) was rescued from Keranirhat area of Satkania upazila in Chattogram on Saturday night.” A total of 15 Rohingyas have been rescued alive. So far, 15 people are missing in this incident. Rescue teams from the Coast Guard, Navy and Air Force are continuing their rescue operation, he added Coast Guard east zonal commander Captain Kazi Shah Alam, said a total of 11 Rohingya bodies have been recovered from deep sea and Sandwip coast till Tuesday afternoon. READ: Covid-19: Vaccination campaign begins at Rohingya camps Among the recovered bodies two were women and six children, he added. Sandwip Police Station OC Bashir Ahmed Khan said two bodies were found floating on the Sandwip coast. After recovering those the bodies were handed over to the Coast Guard.

With the latest reports that a vessel with Rohingya refugees is in distress in the Andaman Sea, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has called on countries in the region to meet their international obligations and ensure that all on board the vessel are immediately rescued and safely disembarked.