Human traffickers shoot 5, injure 150 en route to Malaysia

[mota bhai 2,675]

Bangladesh Coast Guard brings back a Malaysia-bound trawler to the St Martin Island's after rescuing it 12 kilometers off the island in south-east Bay of Bengal on Wednesday. Traffickers shot dead five people and injure at least 151 on board among 330 people who were being taken illegally to Malaysia. Photo: Banglar Chokh

Five people were killed and at least 151 injured in a trawler carrying 330 people illegally to Malaysia, when traffickers fired gunshots at the migrators.

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The Bangladesh Coast Guard rescued the trawler and brought it back to St Martin Island's shore around 5:00pm.

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Starting for Malaysia on Monday morning from [bangladesh] ... the approximately 120 long boat had stopped in the middle of the sea to take more passengers on board.

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"When we protested, a scuffle took place between us and members of the trafficking gang in the trawler," said Belaluddin, one of the Malaysia goers.

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"The traffickers then called their accomplices who came in boats around 12 pm and fired at us," he said.

Commander of Teknaf Station of Bangladesh Coast Guard, Kazi Harun-ar-Rashid, told The Daily Star, "The armed traffickers arrived in three trawlers and fired indiscriminately at the boat which was positioned near the Myanmar border. The miscreants then escaped towards Myanmar."

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After the first Coast Guard boat reached the stranded boat, the agitated passengers at first tried to jump abroad the rescue boat. This had prompted the Coast Guard to back off its much smaller boat and call in reinforcements.

After reinforcements came, the towing began but took a long time since the sea was very rough.

http://www.thedailystar.net/5-myanmarese-boatmen-killed-in-bay-firing-28072