The 28 surviving crew members of Banglar Samriddhi, the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) vessel that became stranded in Ukraine when the Russian invasion began, returned to Dhaka on a Turkish Airlines flight yesterday afternoon.
Upon landing in the Bangladesh capital, the sailors demanded that the government provide adequate compensation to the family of crewmate Hadisur Rahman, who was killed when a missile struck the ship at the Ukranian port of Olvia on March 2.
They also urged bringing Hasidur’s body back to Bangladesh as soon as possible.
Asking to remain anonymous, one of the crew members told Dhaka Tribune: “We are happy that we are safe and no longer in war-ravaged Ukraine, but we did not like leaving behind the body of our crewmate.”
Hasidur’s body has been preserved at a bunker near Ukraine and will be brought back later, according to the government.
The surviving sailors were evacuated from Ukraine to Romania on March 6. They left Bucharest for Dhaka on Tuesday night.
Family members of the sailors, BSC officials, and a delegation from the Foreign Ministry received them at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. The sailors were due to be released after health checks.
Improbable journey
Thanking the government for bringing all the sailors back to their families safely, Banglar Samriddhi Captain Noor E Alam told Dhaka Tribune: "It was an improbable journey. They could not have imagined they would be able to return so quickly."
He also thanked the officials of the Bangladesh embassies in Poland, Austria and Romania for their hard work in evacuating the crew.
“The journey was made possible by the tireless efforts of the prime minister and the cooperation of diplomats. Citizens of many countries remain stuck in Ukraine,” the captain said.
“After the onset of the war, 19 channels of Olvia port were closed. There was no opportunity to return to the country by using any channel. We panicked,” one of the sailors said.
Regarding the missile attack on March 2, another sailor said: “The missile had hit us before we knew what was happening. When we did a headcount after putting out the fire, we realized that Hadisur was no longer with us.”
Sikder Badiruzzaman, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Eastern Europe wing, said: "We have already taken procedures to bring Hadisur Rahman's body back to the country as soon as possible."
On the matter of compensation for Hadisur's family, he said: "We will do whatever is necessary for his family. We have no worries at all about the matter."