A fishing trawler from Alipur fishing port in Patuakhali sank in the deep Bay of Bengal on its first trip out after three days of bad weather. All 15 fishermen on board the MB Mayer Doa-6 were rescued alive by another fishing trawler working nearby.

The accident happened around midday on Saturday, 26 September, about 45 kilometres from Alipur port. News of the sinking reached the port the next day, Sunday, 27 September.

According to the trawler's skipper, Musa, the crew left Alipur in the morning to fish. Some distance out, heavy waves cracked the hull, water poured in and the boat began to go down, leaving the men in the sea until a nearby trawler spotted them and took them on board.

The owner, Mizanur Rahman, said the trawler had stayed safely in port for three days because of the weather and went out to the deep sea on Saturday morning once conditions improved. It had been newly built this year for about Tk 55 lakh and had made only two trips. The trawler has not been found, and efforts to recover it are under way, he said.

Moniruzzaman, officer in charge of the Kuakata river police outpost, confirmed that the 15 fishermen had been rescued alive. The trawler itself has not been located, he said, and information needed for its recovery is being gathered.

For coastal fishing households a trawler is the season's livelihood, not just a boat: losing a Tk 55 lakh investment after two trips is a heavy blow to its owner and crew, and the sinking is a reminder of the risk fishers face when they return to sea straight after a spell of rough weather.

The report is by Desh Rupantor's Kuakata (Patuakhali) correspondent.

Source: Desh Rupantor