As many as 11 fishing trawlers capsized while dozens others lost communication with the shore in rough weather in Patuakhali and Pirojpur.
Families and traders said more than 500 fishermen were on the trawlers, reports bdnews24.com.
Many of the fishermen, who had ventured out recently before a low formed over the Bay of Bengal, have returned home but most of them were still missing on Saturday.
Raju Ahmed, general secretary of the association of fish merchants at Mohipur in Patuakhali, said 11 trawlers sank and 27 were yet to return. “More than 400 fishermen were on the trawlers. Some of them have returned,” he said.
“We don’t know what happened to the missing ones. There’s no trace of them.”
Thousands of relatives of the missing fishermen gathered at Alipur and Mohipur fishing piers. “It’s a heartbreaking scene. The air is heavy with their cries,” said Raju.
Md Selim Mondal, contingent commander of the coast guard in Nizampur, said 11 fishermen were rescued in India’s Raidighi and 13 others in the Sundarbans.
He said they received reports of eight trawlers sinking and at least seven others losing communication.
The fishermen went to the sea after a 65-day ban on fishing had ended recently. Fishing stopped again as the weather became rough. They ventured out after the weather improved. Three days ago, Bangladesh Meteorological Department asked the ports to hoist local cautionary signal No. 3, advising the fishermen to remain close to the shore as the sea became rough.
Citing leaders of the Fishing Trawler Owners’ Association, Pirojpur Fisheries Officer Md Abdul Bari said five trawlers with 75 to 80 fishermen were missing in the district.
Kamal Das, president of the association’s Pirojpur unit, said eight trawlers had gone missing and the authorities were able to establish communication with the crews of three of them.
“We don’t know if the fishermen were able to take shelter on any island,” said Abdur Rahman, president of Southern Fisheries Welfare Association.
Fisheries Officer Abdul Bari said they were trying to trace the missing fishermen with the help of the coast guard. The authorities are also communicating with the families of the missing fishermen, he said.