CAIRO, August 17, — Twenty-nine Bangladeshi migrants are receiving treatment at a hospital in Egypt after being rescued from the Mediterranean Sea while attempting to reach Europe from Libya, according to information provided by Bangladesh’s Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment.
The migrants reportedly became stranded at sea after departing from Tobruk, Libya, on August 3 aboard a rubber boat bound for Greece. The vessel was carrying 38 Bangladeshis and four Sudanese nationals, a total of 42 people.
According to a statement signed by Bangladesh’s Labour Secretary Mohammad Zakir Hossain, the boat was powered by a speedboat engine but had no proper navigation equipment. The migrants had reportedly been told that the journey to Greece would take around 36 hours.
However, the boat ran out of fuel and lost its way, leaving the passengers adrift in the Mediterranean for nearly 10 days. The vessel eventually reached the coast near Marsa Matruh, Egypt, on August 13, where local police rescued the survivors.
Of the 29 Bangladeshi migrants currently in hospital, 18 were reportedly in serious condition and unconscious when they were rescued.
One survivor, Abdul Karim, told Bangladesh’s labour secretary by phone that 10 people — nine Bangladeshis and one Sudanese national — died while the boat was drifting at sea.
The deaths were reportedly caused by extreme heat, prolonged exposure to the sun, and severe shortages of food and drinking water. As the bodies began to decompose after remaining at sea for an extended period, the surviving passengers were forced to dispose of them in the sea, according to Karim.
After learning of the incident, officials at the Bangladesh Embassy in Egypt contacted local police and hospital authorities and have continued to monitor the condition of the survivors.
Bangladesh’s diplomatic mission has also begun arrangements to provide necessary consular assistance. Once the injured migrants recover, authorities plan to facilitate their repatriation to Bangladesh in accordance with Egyptian law and procedures.
The Bangladesh government said a more detailed report on the incident will be submitted after further information is obtained from local authorities and interviews with the rescued migrants.
The incident highlights the extreme dangers faced by migrants attempting irregular Mediterranean crossings, often after falling into the hands of human-trafficking networks operating along the Libya-Europe migration route.
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