Libya boat capsize: Rescued BD nationals to be brought back

The Bangladesh nationals, rescued alive after the capsize of two boats in the Libyan Coastal Town of Zuwara, around 300 km west off Tripoli, will be brought back home on completion of necessary formalities, said an official.
Bangladesh will seek support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to send back rescued Bangladesh nationals home, a news agency report said.
A total of 47 Bangladesh nationals were rescued alive after the twin tragedies. However, still there is confusion over the death toll.
Earlier on Friday, Counsellor (labour), Bangladesh Embassy to Libya, now situated in Tunisia, Ashraful Islam told UNB over phone from Libya that the death toll is eight. He, however, confirmed the deaths on the basis of their conversations with victims’ relatives.
Quoting the same official, BBC Bangla in a report on Saturday said there were seven Bangladeshis among the deaths.
“There were 54 Bangladesh nationals, including children and women, in the two boats. Of them, 47 were rescued alive,” the report says quoting Ashraful Islam.
Ashraful Islam, however, could not be reached over phone despite repeated attempts to know about the latest situation there.
Of the rescued Bangladesh nationals, women were kept under the embassy custody while the male ones in Tripoli detention centre, said the BBC report.
The Bangladesh official was not allowed to see the dead bodies yet as they could not secure permission through diplomatic channel, it said.
On August 27, around 2am, a boat (BBC says 2 boats) carrying about 400-500 migrants, including reportedly 54 Bangladeshis, capsized off the Libyan Coastal Town of Zuwara located around 300 km west of Tripoli, while crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
A Bangladesh Embassy team, led by Counsellor (labour) Ashraful Islam, is coordinating medical and humanitarian support, said the Foreign Ministry here.
The migrants were rescued by the Libyan Coast Guards and extended treatment facilities. The rescued Bangladeshis include four families with children.
The first boat, which capsized early on Thursday, had nearly 100 people on board. The second, which sank later, was carrying about 400 passengers.
Rescuers have, meanwhile, pulled 82 bodies from the water and saved 198 people, according to an official with the Red Crescent.
-SS