Teknaf (Cox’s Bazar) Correspondent //

A boat carrying Rohingyas capsized in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, while they were fleeing to Bangladesh to escape the ongoing conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. The bodies of a child and a woman were recovered following the incident. The Coast Guard rescued 16 people alive, while another woman remains missing.

The incident occurred around 2:00 AM on Tuesday near the Kachapia Karachipara sea beach in Baharchhara Union, Teknaf.

According to police and local sources, the boat was heading towards the Bangladesh coast from Myanmar with Rohingyas on board. It sank after reaching the vicinity of the shore. Upon receiving the news, Coast Guard personnel arrived at the scene, rescued 16 survivors, and handed them over to the Teknaf Model Police Station. Police later recovered the bodies of the child and the woman from the site.

Inspector Mohammad Abu Sayed, in-charge of the Baharchhara Investigation Center, stated that the two bodies were recovered from the Kachapia Karachipara beach area during the night. Preliminary assessments suggest the boat sank when it was very close to the shore.

Md. Korban Ali, a resident of Ukhiya who was among the survivors, said, “Another person—a Buddhist—and I had been imprisoned in Myanmar for nearly a year. With no other way to return home, we were traveling to Bangladesh by boat with the Rohingyas. The boat sank after we neared Baharchhara. There were 19 of us on board. A child and a woman died, and another woman is missing. The Coast Guard rescued the remaining 16.”

Md. Saiful Islam, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Teknaf Model Police Station, said, “The Coast Guard rescued 16 people and handed them over to the station following the capsizing of the Rohingya-laden boat in the Baharchhara area. Two bodies were recovered in the incident and have been sent to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital for autopsies. Further legal action will be taken after verifying the details of the 16 rescued individuals.”

It is worth noting that the number of registered Rohingyas across 33 refugee camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, stands at approximately 1.25 million. Following the outbreak of violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State after August 25, 2017, approximately 800,000 Rohingya sought refuge in Bangladesh within a span of a few months. As the conflict in Rakhine persists, fresh waves of Rohingya continue to flee to Bangladesh.

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