Bangladeshi rescuers on Thursday searched for 50 people still missing after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees heading for Malaysia capsized with 110 passengers on board, officials said.
Coastguards, the navy and fishermen have rescued about 60 people since the boat went down on Wednesday morning 15 kilometres off the southern district of Cox’s Bazaar.
“So far about 60 passengers, about half the number of passengers of the boat, have been rescued,” Bangladesh Border Guard commander Lieutenant Colonel Zahid Hasan told reporters.
He said the border guards have held 25 survivors, both Bangladeshis and Rohingya, for questioning and there were about 35 others who were picked up by fishing boats.
“We have not found any dead bodies yet,” he said.
Security officers have asked coastal villages to report other survivors, Hasan said.