Bangladesh authorities process two Sri Lankan fishermen rescued after month adrift at sea

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Two Sri Lankan fishermen have been rescued off the coast of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, after spending nearly a month adrift in the Bay of Bengal. The pair, 51-year-old S.H. Chaminda and his 30-year-old son, Sounda Hannadigipiyawating, were found in a disabled vessel by a local fishing crew last Wednesday and were transported to a safe house on Monday following a judicial order.

The father and son, residents of Devinuwara, Sri Lanka, had set sail 36 days prior alongside two other crew members. Their journey took a catastrophic turn when severe weather disabled their boat’s engine, causing them to drift toward the Andaman Sea. While two other fishermen managed to return home three days later with the help of a passing vessel, the father and son remained with their boat. Their ordeal was further compounded when, a week into their voyage, intruders boarded their vessel and looted valuable equipment, including cameras and binoculars.

According to the local police, the men faced dire conditions as their food supplies ran out just seven days into their voyage. To survive the next 29 days, they were forced to subsist on raw fish and bait. The pair was eventually spotted by a Bangladeshi fishing trawler owned by Ziaur Rahman, who towed the disabled craft to the Maheshkhali coast last Friday. Rahman, who coordinated with a Dubai-based relative to translate and identify the men, provided initial shelter at his home before police took the duo into custody.

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Following coordination between the Bangladesh Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Sri Lankan Embassy, a Maheshkhali judicial magistrate ordered the men to be moved to a facility under the Department of Social Services. They are scheduled to be transported to Dhaka on Tuesday morning, where they will undergo legal processing for repatriation.

While the fishermen are being prepared for their return to Sri Lanka, their vessel will remain in Bangladesh. Officials noted that the small boat is unfit to be towed across the thousands of kilometers of turbulent sea required to return it to its origin. The court has granted ownership of the salvaged vessel to Ziaur Rahman as compensation for the risks taken by his crew during the rescue operation.