‘More Bangladeshis likely among dead’

Concerns have been raised that there may be more Bangladeshis among the dead in the boat capsize off the Tunisian coast last Friday.

Also read: Shipwreck in Mediterranean: 37 Bangladeshis among the dead

Bangladesh Red Crescent Society cast the grim prospect today, also managing to obtain names of 27 among the 37 Bangladeshis who died.

“There might be more Bangladeshi victims among the dead,” Imam Zafar Sikder, director of local Red Crescent’s Restoring Family Links, told The Daily Star.

“Though there were news that 75 migrants were in the boat, the Tunisian Red Crescent said that there were about 80 to 90 people on board,” he said.

IDENTITIES FOUND

Among the identities obtained by Bangladesh Red Crescent, mostly are from Sylhet, Kishoreganj, Sunamganj and Shariatpur districtrs.

Of the 14 survivors, six are from Shariatpur, Sikder said.

Some relatives of the victims have also contacted the BDRCS, which is verifying the names and identifies of those feared dead, he added.

Syeda Abida Farheen, programme officer of the Restoring Family Links department, told The Daily Star five dead bodies have been recovered so far. They are yet to be identified.

Four Bangladeshi survivors are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Tunisia as they fell sick after being rescued, she said.

Bangladesh Red Crescent Scociety is coordinating with the Tunisian Red Crescent, foreign ministry and International Organization for Migration in identifying the victims.

The hotline numbers BRDS has opened are 88-02-49354246 and 01811458521, said the BDRCS on Sunday. The relatives of the boat capsize victims can contact and provide detail identities for the Red Crescent for help.