Bodies of five missing fishermen recovered after trawler sinks

The bodies of five fishermen who went missing when their trawler capsized in turbulent waters off Barguna's Patharghata have been recovered from the Bay of Bengal, nearly 22 hours after the vessel, FB Barkat, was swallowed by severe weather near Hairer Char.

The bodies were located on Tuesday, according to Badal Molla, the trawler's owner and boatman, who said the recovery vessel was making its way back to the coast from deep waters and was expected to reach Patharghata within roughly three hours. The trawler, carrying thirteen fishermen, had sunk on Monday afternoon after being struck by fierce winds and towering waves; eight crew members were rescued alive in the immediate aftermath, while five others remained unaccounted for. The missing men were identified as Nur Alam, 37, Kawsar, 30, Saikul, 33, Ibrahim, 28, and Bellal, 22, all residents of various areas within Patharghata Sadar Union.

Younus Molla, the trawler's cook and one of the survivors, recounted that a violent storm had been raging at sea when several exhausted crew members retreated to sleep inside the vessel's bridge while preparations were underway to cast nets; the trawler capsized suddenly when struck by a powerful squall and towering waves. The eight survivors clung to the water for nearly two hours before being pulled aboard another passing trawler. Upon learning of the disaster, the district fishermen's trawler owners' association dispatched a vessel to join the search, which ultimately located the bodies of the five missing men.

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News of the recovery has cast a pall of grief over Patharghata, where the fishermen's families and relatives now await the bodies' return to shore, with further arrangements to follow once they reach land.