KOLKATA: A fisherman, who was among 25 who went missing in the Bay of Bengal, managed to stay afloat for four days to be rescued miraculously by a cargo vessel near Bangladesh’s Cox Bazar town, Wednesday.
Rabindranath Das was spotted floating by the sailors of a cargo vessel returning to Bangladesh from Myanmar, said Sunderbans Development minister Manturam Pakhira. Das, who was wearing a life jacket, was later admitted to a hospital in Chittagong.
Das was on board FB Nayan, which capsized in choppy waters. Fifteen fishermen from the trawler are still missing, secretary of West Bengal United Fishermen Association Bijan Maity said. The fishermen had started from Namkhana on four trawlers — FB Nayan, FB Dashabhuja, FB Babaji and FB Joy Jogiraj — last week, without paying heed to warnings. Nine fishermen from FB Dashabhuja are still missing. Thirteen other fishermen on another boat, which had developed a snag were rescued by Indian Coast Guard on Saturday.