Sailors of ‘Banglar Samriddhi’, stranded in Ukrain, plead for help
“We are still on the ship,” said Omar Faruk Tuhin, the chief engineer on the ship owned by the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC).
“We have no way to get off this vessel. Please spread the word. We could be hit by a missile at any time. Our lives are at risk.”
The Bangladeshi ship, stranded in the Ukraine amid a war, was hit by a shell on Tuesday night Bangladesh time, killing Hadisur Rahman, the third engineer on the ship, reports bdnews24.com.
According to BSC officials, the shell struck the bridge of the ship, where Hadisur was on duty. The remaining 28 sailors on board are still unhurt. Two of them are female cadets.
The fire started by the shell was put out by the crew, said BSC General Manager (Chartering, Planning) Captain Md Mujibur Rahman.
The BSC is maintaining regular communication with the crew and their next steps are being discussed, he said.
The BSC believes it is safer for the crew to remain on board for the time being.
On Feb 21, the MV Banglar Samriddhi set off from a port in Turkey and arrived in Ukraine’s Olvia. It was at the port’s outer anchorage on Feb 22 and was moved to the inner anchorage the following day.
The ship was scheduled to take cement clay on board before travelling to Italy’s Ravenna on Feb 24.
