Twenty-nine Bangladeshis rescued from the Mediterranean Sea are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Egypt after reaching the country’s coast while attempting to cross the sea to Europe.
They were rescued by Egyptian police and taken to a hospital, according to a message signed by Labour Secretary Md Zakir Hossain.
The message said a rubber boat carrying the migrants, who had allegedly fallen victim to a human trafficking ring, lost its way while crossing the Mediterranean from Libya towards Greece and eventually reached the coast of Marsa Matruh in Egypt.
Local police rescued all 29 migrants. Eighteen of them were seriously ill and unconscious and were admitted to Marsa Matruh General Hospital.
After learning about the incident, the Bangladesh embassy’s first secretary (labour) contacted local police and hospital authorities. Police said all 29 migrants were currently under their care at the hospital.
Later, with the assistance of a hospital employee, Bangladeshi national Abdul Karim, who was receiving treatment, spoke to Labour Secretary Zakir Hossain over the phone.
Karim said 42 people — 38 Bangladeshis and four Sudanese nationals — left Tobruk, Libya, for Greece on a rubber boat on August 3.
Although the boat was powered by a speedboat engine, it did not have a proper navigation system. The migrants had been told that the journey across the Mediterranean to Greece would take about 36 hours.
However, due to the lack of a proper navigation system and the boat eventually running out of fuel, it lost its way and drifted in the Mediterranean for about 10 days. The boat eventually reached the coast of Marsa Matruh on August 13.
According to Karim, 10 people — nine Bangladeshis and one Sudanese national — fell ill and died while the boat was adrift because of extreme heat, prolonged exposure to sunlight and a lack of food and water.
As the bodies began decomposing after remaining at sea for an extended period, the surviving passengers were eventually forced to throw them into the sea, he said.
Since learning of the incident, the embassy has remained in regular contact with local police and hospital authorities. It is monitoring the condition of the Bangladeshis receiving treatment and has taken steps to provide necessary consular and other assistance.
Once the injured Bangladeshis recover, the embassy will take necessary steps to repatriate them to Bangladesh after completion of the required procedures under Egyptian law.
A detailed report on the incident will be sent later based on information from local authorities, statements from the Bangladeshis receiving treatment and on-site interviews, the message said.
FP/R
