Myanmar Navy detains 22 Bangladeshi fishermen on four trawlers

Members of the Myanmar Navy detained 22 Bangladeshi fishermen and seized their four trawlers Saturday from the Bay of Bengal, UNB reports.

Saint Martin Union Parishad chairman Nur Ahmed said Myanmar Navy seized four of the trawlers owned by residents of the area with the 22 fishermen on board around 10:00am Saturday, from the east side of the island when they were out in the sea fishing.

Border Guard of Bangladesh and the Coast Guard have been informed about the incident, said the UP chairman.

According to local fishermen, those 22 fishermen went in the sea around Friday evening on trawlers owned by Nurul Amin, Md Azim, Md Hossain and Md Younus.

Some members of Myanmar Navy crossed the maritime boundary on Saturday morning and took control of the trawlers at gunpoint, they said.

Trawler owner Md Azim said his trawler was taken with six fishermen on board, along with the other three trawlers.

An official from the Coast Guard’s Saint Martin station said it is being investigated whether the detained fishermen were Bangladeshi citizens or members of the Rohingya community.

Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Parvez Chowdhury said BGB and Coast Guard will take actions in this regard after investigation.