One Dead, over 20 Missing after Boat Sinks Off Bangladesh

A cargo ship rammed a Bangladeshi fishing trawler on Friday leaving one crew member dead and 26 others believed missing in the Bay of Bengal, navy officers said.

The trawler FV Bandhan, believed to have been carrying 29 fishermen, sank after being struck by the cargo ship 54 kilometers (34 miles) off the Bangladeshi coast early on Friday, an officer said.

"The fishing boat sank after it was hit by another ship. Another boat which was passing by rescued three people. One of them was found dead," navy lieutenant commander Ikramul Hossain told AFP.

"What we have learned from the survivors is that the ship rammed the wooden boat despite its crew trying to alert the ship."

Hossain said 26 others were still unaccounted for, adding that the ship was flying a Bangladeshi flag.

The two survivors have been given initial medical treatment and were being taken on a naval ship to the southern port city of Chittagong, the navy officer said.

Television footage showed scores of relatives of the missing, including children, gathering along the shore in Chittagong, many wailing and holding photographs of their loved ones.

"I want my husband back. If he is not alive I want his dead body," one woman told Somoy TV channel.

Three naval ships, one maritime patrol aircraft and its divers were conducting search and rescue operations near St Martin's Island off the southeastern tip of Bangladesh, officials said.

Ferry and boat accidents are common in the impoverished country, with overcrowding, poor ship design and bad maintenance often to blame, along with failure to comply with the rules.