Indian Navy rescues 33 B’deshis adrift in choppy Bay of Bengal
DHAKA/NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy on Wednesday rescued 33 people from choppy seas off Bangladesh after Cyclone Mora wreaked havoc and killed at least nine persons and left over 50,000 families homeless.
INS Sumitra rescued 33 people found adrift in the Bay of Bengal, about 160 km from Chittagong.
The Eastern Naval Command is deploying P-81 aircraft as part of its rescue operations.
The cyclone has affected 286,000 people in 16 coastal districts, disaster management ministry additional secretary Golam Mostafa was quoted as saying by bdnews24.
Cox’s Bazar, the longest unbroken sea beach in the world, bore the brunt of the cyclone, with five people dead, over 20,000 houses destroyed and hundreds of trees uprooted, blocking roads all over the district.
In Bhola district, an infant died while in Rangamati, a woman and a girl were crushed to death when trees fell on their houses. In Bandarban, a man was killed.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said a quick response by the government mechanism averted severe casualties and damages.
Cyclone Mora, packing winds of up to 150 km per hour, made landfall in the country on Tuesday, tearing through the southwest districts including low-lying areas.
The government had spearheaded a massive evacuation campaign after the meteorological department issued a “great danger signal” as the storm proceeded towards the country’s coastlines.