At least six crewmen of the Bangladesh flag carrier MV Hope, which capsized in the Andaman Sea near the coast of Thailand on Thursday, are still missing.
Seventeen crew members jumped into the sea with life rafts.
Of the crewmen, six were rescued soon after the incident while three were found on Friday and bodies of two were recovered by the Thai Royal Navy, Coastguard and ocean-going vessels.
Among the dead were Chief Officer Mahabub Morshed of Chittagong and Chief Engineer Kazi Saifuddin of Dhaka.
Captain Mohiuddin Abdul Quader, the chief executive officer of Inter-port Maritime Limited, an organisation working to protect the interests of ocean-going vessels, said one of the rescued crewmen, Abu Bakar, confirmed the identities of the bodies.
“Rescue operation is underway and we have been keeping in touch with the Thai rescuers round the clock to get update,” he said, adding that they were optimistic about finding them alive.
The missing crewmen are Captain Rajib Chandra Karmakar, Second Engineer Nazim Uddin, Electrician Sadim Ali, AB Nasir Uddin, Chief Cook Nasir Uddin and Oiler Ali Hossain.
Meanwhile, FV Pailin – a fishing vessel which has been traceless from the same coast since Wednesday with 11 crewmen on board including three Bangladeshis – was traced Friday afternoon.
Khandakar Hadeyetul Islam – spokesman for the vessel – said the ship had lost radio contact due to rough weather and was able restore contact after 27 hours.
The vessel is heading towards Chittagong port and scheduled to reach there on July 11, he said. He added that all crewmen were safe.
