The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Bagerhat

Three fishing trawlers sank yesterday in the Bay of Bengal, leaving a least 10 fishermen missing amid depression.

Some survivors who managed to swim ashore said heavy winds caused the accident, as some 28 fishermen were aboard at Narikelbaria and Kotka areas. "Of them, about 18 returned safely but the rest remained unaccounted for," said Alauddin, one of the trawler owners from Kachikhali area.

coast guard captain Abidur Rahman said search for the missing was on at various points of the coast.

Due to the monsoon depression, thousands of scared fishermen with their trawlers took shelter at small rivers of the Sundarbans.

Meanwhile, some 100 fishermen who were reported missing after trawlers capsized Monday night have managed to return to safety by swimming or with the help of other trawlers.

But some 25 trawlers that went under water remained untraced in the depression-hit rough sea.

The low-lying areas of nine upazilas in Bagerhat district were submerged because of abnormal tidal surge.

Many shrimp farms were washed away by the tidal surge in Bagerhat, said fisheries department official Nittanondo Das.