The Bangladesh Coast Guard on Sunday rescued stranded passengers from the tourist ship MV Green Line-1, which was stuck in the water on the Teknaf-Saint Martin’s waterway in Cox's Bazar.
Lieutenant Commander Khandaker Munif Taki, the media officer of the Coast Guard Headquarters, confirmed the rescue operation.
The Coast Guard dispatched several rescue teams to assist the tourists on board. The stranded passengers were safely rescued and transported to the island of Saint Martin’s via speed boat. Some of the tourists fell ill during the incident and received necessary medical treatment.
Earlier on Sunday morning, the ship MV Green Line-1, operated by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) of Teknaf, had set out for Saint Martin’s with 44 tourists. However, the ship became stranded in the sea area, four nautical miles north of Saint Martin’s.
Zahir Uddin Bhuiyan, the traffic supervisor of Teknaf region for BIWTA, mentioned that the Coast Guard responded promptly to the information about the stranded ship and carried out the successful rescue operation. While other tourist ships reached Saint Martin’s safely, the Green Line ship faced issues due to the helmsman's inefficiency.
Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Adnan Chowdhury assured that an investigation would be conducted into the matter, and appropriate action would be taken against the ship's authorities.