Pirates abducted at least 50 fishermen from Patharghata upazila in Barguna.
The fishermen were abducted on Monday evening while they were catching fishes in 25 trawlers in the Bay of Bengal at fairway point, 80km away from Patharghata.
Eleven fishermen were injured in the attack that continued till early hours of Tuesday, Barguna Fishing Boat Owners' Association Chairman Golam Mostafa Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune.
Among the abducted, Harun Miya, Forkan Baburchi, Shwapan, Forkan, Mosharef, Rafiq and Mozammel were identified while the rest could not be identified yet.
Of the injured, Sohel, 24, Hasan, 25, Shwapan, 28, Babul, 32, Bellal, 31, Siddique, 27, Yunus, 34 and A Rahman, 28, could be identified.
Golam Mostafa Chowdhury said around 30 pirates abducted the fishermen along with the trawlers. They looted Ilish fish and other valuables worth Tk10 lakh from the trawlers.
FB Riaz Uddin, FB Rina, FB Maa Babar Dowa, FB Sirajul Hoque, FB Bashir, FB Akter and FB Maa were among the abducted trawlers.
The injured fishermen are currently under treatment at Patharaghata Health Complex. All of them are residents of different villages under the upazila.
Quoting the family members of the abducted fishermen and owners of the trawlers, Golam Mostafa said the pirates of “Master Group” had told them to call at 01709747449 and 01709747445 for further instructions.
Ponu Akon, owner of FB Riaz Uddin, said the trawler owners would work unitedly to rescue the abducted fishermen.
However, siting examples from previous similar incidents, Barguna Trawler Workers' Union President Abdul Mannan said there was no other way but to succumb to the demands of the pirates to get back the fishermen.
Patharghata Coastguard Commander SA Rouf said they had started drive to rescue the fishermen.
