Bangladeshi crew members who got stranded aboard the damaged ship, Banglar Samriddhi, in Ukraine being moved to safety — Photo: Collected The government started the process of shifting 28 Bangladeshi mariners of Banglar Samriddhi to Romania from Ukraine, foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen said on Friday.
The body of Hadisur Rahman, third engineer of the ship, is also being shifted, foreign secretary.
Mr Rahman was killed aboard when a missile hit the ship on March 02.
The sailors will be shifted to Romania via Moldova, the secretary says, adding that the ministry is preparing to bring home Mr Rahman's body along with other.
He said it is not clear yet who actually attacked the ship which was anchored in Port Olivia of Ukraine.
"Russia said they were not involved in the attack, and they assured us to investigate into the matter to have the real picture," Mr Masud added.
It is to be noted that the government has already decided to declare the water vessel abandoned.
Responding to a query, he said an estimated 600 Bangladeshis reached Poland and other neighbouring countries from Ukraine after the beginning of the war.
"We think there are at least 100 Bangladeshis in Ukraine now, and they may be reluctant to leave Ukraine," Mr Masud said.
Meanwhile, families say Bangladeshi seafarers caught in Russia-Ukraine conflict are 'safe' and 'healthy', reports bdnews24.com.
The seafarers are taking shelter in a bunker after being moved to safety.
The families of two sailors, including the ship's chief engineer, said on Friday that they were in good health.
However, they could not provide any information about when they will leave the bunker for their next destination.
On February 21, MV Banglar Samriddhi set off from a port in Turkey and arrived in Ukraine's Olvia with 29 crew members.
It was at the port's outer anchorage on February 22 and was moved to the inner anchorage the following day.
The ship was supposed to take cement clay aboard before travelling to Italy's Ravenna on February 24, but Russia launched its military assault before the vessel was scheduled to depart.
The vessel's bridge was hit by a shell on Wednesday evening Bangladesh time, killing Mr Rahman.
Concerns about the safety of the stranded crew members only grew after Omar Faruk Tuhin, the ship's chief engineer, made an impassioned plea for help.
MV Banglar Samriddhi was later declared abandoned after the sailors, including two female cadets, left the ship with the body of their colleague in a tugboat about 7:30pm Bangladesh standard time on Thursday.
A group representing sailors of seafaring merchant ships has accused the state-owned Bangladesh Shipping
Corporation (BSC) of being "negligent" over its decision to send Banglar Samriddhi to Ukraine amid the ongoing military conflict with Russia.
The Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers' Association also called for the formation of a high-level probe panel to look into the matter during a press conference at its office on Chattogram's Strand Road on Friday.
"Based on the information we've received so far the ship could have avoided going to Ukraine. It seems that BSC was negligent here," said Shakawat Hossain, general secretary of the association.
The association blamed "mismanagement" of the BSC for putting the mariners in harm's way.
In a written statement read out by Shakhawat, the organisation also raised various questions about the decision to send the ship to a 'war zone'.
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