Hopes fade for missing Bangladesh fishermen

DHAKA, Sep 25 (Reuters) Hopes of finding alive thousands of Bangladeshi fishermen reported missing after a storm wrecked their boats in the Bay of Bengal are fading fast, officials said today.

Rescuers have found about 120 dead bodies off the coast since Tuesday night's storm caught hundreds of fishing boats off guard at sea.

But officials said the number of fishermen unaccounted for was more than 3,000, with fears rising they might have drowned and their bodies swept away.

Only the luckiers would probably have made shelter in the Sundarban forests along the coast or on distant islands, waiting for calmer seas before returning.

The district commissioner of Barguna, Qazi Obaidur Rahman, said yesterday that some 1,700 fishermen from his district alone were missing. Up to 2,000 others were reported missing from other coastal districts of Patuakhali, Bagerhat and Cox's Bazar.

Officials said the numbers given by fishing community leaders and local government sources could be exaggerated in order to inflate compensation claims.

Officials said the Bangladesh navy and coastguard and dozens of fishing trawlers had launched a massive hunt for the missing fishermen yesterday, scouring the rough seas.

Fishermen who have managed to return to shore over the last five days said they had seen many bodies floating in the sea or washed up on sandy islands.

Yesterday, nearly 20 bodies washed ashore and were buried by villagers without being able to identify them.

Officials monitoring the operation said they would probably call off the search later today.

REUTERS SP RN1233