Dozens still missing, 20 bodies recovered in Rohingya boat accident

Dozens of people are still missing and believed drowned after a boat carrying some 100 Rohingyas sank off the coast of Bangladesh Thursday, an official said Friday.

Mohammad Mohobbat Khan, an inspector of tourist police in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district, some 292 km southeast of the capital Dhaka, told Xinhua that the death toll of the sinking boat rose to 20 on Friday, after another 5 bodies were retrieved.

"Another 5 bodies were recovered untill Friday evening which takes the number of total death toll to 20 from 15 on Thursday," he said.

Sources feared the death toll will rise further as around 50 Rohingya people still remain missing.

They said the boat carrying the Rohingyas overturned in the rough sea just yards from the shore after hitting some submerged objects at the Inani sea beach area amid strong wind and high tide.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)