Bangladesh's death toll rises past 100 after storms
Last Updated: Sunday, September 24, 2006 12:10 PM ET
CBC News
Bangladesh's confirmed death toll from storms in the Bay of Bengal rose to 107 on Sunday as officials warned that thousands of fishermen remain missing and are feared drowned.
Rescuers recovered 32 more bodies late on Saturday and early on Sunday, the United News of Bangladesh news agency reported.
A man wades through stagnant rainwater with his children at Bashila, on the outskirts of Dhaka.(Pavel Rahman/Associated Press)Thousands of people were still being reported missing on Sunday, after sudden storms on Tuesday night caught hundreds of fishing boats far from shore in the Bay of Bengal, toppled houses and washed away roads and shrimp farms along the coast.
Authorities said one of the hardest hit districts was Barguna, about 300 kilometres south of the capital, Dhaka.
"Lists provided by local government bodies, fishing community leaders and fishing boat owners suggested more than 1,700 fishermen are still missing from the Barguna district alone," district administrator Kazi Obaidur Rahman told Reuters news agency on Sunday.
Rescuers found most of the bodies in Dubalarchar, Katka and Kachikhali around the sprawling seaside mangrove forest of the Sundarbans, the United News of Bangladesh said.
Some bodies were found in rivers and canals along the sea, it said.
Navy rescuers continued to search for a missing naval commander, but high waves and strong winds were hampering the operation.
Different districts including Cox's Bazaar, about 300 kilometres south of Dhaka, have been inundated due to days of rainfall.
Bangladesh, a low-lying delta nation of 144 million people, is prone to annual floods and cyclones.