Nine Bangladeshi die attempting Mediterranean crossing to Greece

Nine Bangladeshis have died while attempting to reach Greece by crossing the Mediterranean Sea in a perilous journey from Libya, while 29 others are receiving treatment at a hospital in Egypt, the Bangladesh Embassy in Cairo said on Sunday. The migrants were among 42 people who departed from Tobruk, Libya, aboard a rubber boat operated with the assistance of a human-trafficking network.

According to the embassy, the group comprised 38 Bangladeshis and four Sudanese nationals. The boat, which set sail on August 3, had a speedboat engine but lacked proper navigation equipment. The passengers had reportedly been told that the journey to Greece would take about 36 hours. However, after running out of fuel, the vessel lost its way and remained adrift in the Mediterranean for nearly 10 days before reaching the coast of Marsa Matruh, Egypt, on August 13, where local police rescued the passengers.

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Of the rescued migrants, 18 were found seriously ill and unconscious and were admitted to Marsa Matruh General Hospital. According to Abdul Karim, one of the Bangladeshi survivors, prolonged exposure to extreme heat and intense sunlight, coupled with severe shortages of food and water, resulted in the deaths of nine Bangladeshis and one Sudanese national. He said survivors were eventually forced to cast the decomposing bodies into the sea. The Bangladesh Embassy is maintaining contact with local authorities and providing consular assistance, while arrangements will be made to repatriate the Bangladeshis after their recovery and completion of the required legal procedures.