BD crew return from Ukraine

The 28 sailors who survived a missile attack on the Bangladeshi ship 'Banglar Samriddhi' returned home from Rumania on Wednesday, creating an emotional atmosphere at the airport.
A Turkish flight, departing Romania's capital, Bucharest, with the 28 sailors landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at around 12:01 pm, officials said.
The Bangladeshi ship, stranded at a port in war-torn Ukraine, came under a missile attack on March 02, causing one Bangladeshi sailor dead.
The dead body of Md Hadisur Rahman, who was killed in the attack, has been kept in Ukraine. It would be brought back home at a suitable time, the officials mentioned.
The crew members' families as well as officials from the state-run Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed them at the airport in presence of hundreds of reporters on Wednesday. Families and relatives broke into tears to get back their near and dear ones.
"I'm very happy to see my brother, as my family was going through an uncertainty since the ship was attacked by missile," said a person.
The returnee crew members are: GM Nur E Alam, Md Mansurul Amin Khan, Selim Mia, Rama Krishna Biswas, Md Ruknuzzaman Rajib, Fariatul Jannat Tuli, Faisal Ahmed Setu, Mohammad Omar Farooq, Syed Asiful Islam, Rabiul Awal, Salman Sarwar Sami, Farzana Islam Mou, Md Sheikh Saadi, Md Masudur Rahman, Md Jamal Hossain, Mohammad Hanif, Md Aminur Islam, Md Mohin Uddin, Hussain Mohammad Rakib, Sajjad Ibne Alam, Nazmul Uddin, Md Nazrul Islam, Sarwar Hossain, Md Masum Billah, Mohammad Hossain, Md Shafiqur Rahman, Md Atiqur Rahman, and Mohammad Saif Uddin. They left the HSIA through the VIP gate.
A report of bdnews24.com adds, upon returning home, the ship's Master GM Noor E Alam was overcome by relief, as he had 'never imagined' that they would be back so soon.
"We're happy to be able to return home safely in such a short span of time. This was possible due to the specific directive of the prime minister and the immediate action by the authorities."
He thanked the prime minister and all the officials involved in bringing the seafarers back safe and sound from the war-stricken Eastern European country.
'Banglar Samriddhi', owned by the BSC, set off from a port in Turkey and arrived in Ukraine's Olvia with 29 crew members on Feb 22. The ship was moved to the inner anchorage on the following day.
It was supposed to take cement clay on board before travelling to Italy's Ravenna on Feb 24, but Russia launched its military assault before its scheduled departure.
The vessel's bridge was hit by a shell on March 2. The bulk carrier was declared abandoned on the next day after the sailors, including two female cadets, left the ship with the body of their colleague in a tugboat, and took shelter in bunkers at the port of Olvia.
Three days after they were rescued from the ship, the crew members crossed the Moldovan border into Romania, and stayed in a hotel in Bucharest.
Recalling the ordeal in Ukraine, Mr Alam said, "We were terrified. But our government took all the necessary steps. The best thing is that we have been able to reach home safely. But we're very tired."
The Ministry of Shipping, the BSC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were in constant touch with them after the ship was hit by the missile.
He also expressed gratitude to the officials at the Bangladesh missions in Poland, Austria and Romania for their efforts to bring about the sailors' repatriation.
"Many people from other countries, even those bigger than ours, are still stranded in Ukraine. We're from a relatively small country. But we have been able to return home because of the initiative taken by the prime minister as well as the cooperation of diplomats."
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