Members of Bangladesh security personnel stand guard beside Rohingya refugees rescued from the sea after a Malaysia bound boat sank off the Bangladesh coast in Teknaf on Oct 4, 2022. (AFP)
DHAKA – At least three people were killed and 17 went missing after a boat carrying scores of people mostly Rohingya refugees capsized in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district, some 400 km southeast of the capital Dhaka, on Tuesday morning, an official said.
A survivor has informed the rescuers that they were trying to go to Malaysia illegally, said the coast guard official
"We've recovered three bodies," Lieutenant Commander Ashiq Ahmed of the Bangladesh Coast Guard told Xinhua.
"We've come to know that the boat carrying some 65 people left Teknaf at about 5:00 a.m. local time Tuesday," he said.
He said the boat sank off the coast of Bangladesh due to rough sea conditions.
A survivor has informed the rescuers that they were trying to go to Malaysia illegally, said the coast guard official.
ALSO READ: Report: Rohingya refugee boat sinks off Myanmar, dozens dead
He said 45 people, including four Bangladeshis and 41 Rohingya refugees, were rescued.
A search and rescue operation was underway for some 17 missing persons, he said.
Nearly 1 million Rohingya people from Myanmar's Rakhine state are now living in dozens of camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district and they often try to go abroad illegally.