C T Online Desk: The 28 living crew members of the MV Banglar Samriddhi, the Bangladeshi vessel that suffered a casualty during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have crossed the border into Romania through Moldova.
The sailors, a group which includes two female cadets, were expected to reach the Romanian capital of Bucharest in a couple of hours, said Bangladeshi Ambassador Md Daud Ali at 1:15 am on Sunday Romanian time.
Bangladesh has an embassy in the Romanian capital and hotel arrangements have been made for the sailors, the ambassador said.
“They will stay in Bucharest after they arrive. Then arrangements will be made to send them home by air. We will speak to them before they leave. They will be travelling a long way to get here so they will need rest.”
“We will confirm their decisions to return home after we have spoken to them.”
The body of Md Hadisur Rahman, an engineer killed when the vessel was hit, is being preserved in Ukraine, Daud Ali said.
The Bangladesh Embassy in Poland is working to return the body to Bangladesh, he said.
Previously, at 1:45 am on Saturday Polish time, Bangladesh Ambassador to Poland Sultana Laila Hossain told bdnews24.com that the sailors had crossed the Ukraine border and had entered Moldova.
It took four days for the crew of the vessel, which had been stranded at the Ukrainian port of Olvia, to leave Ukraine after their vessel was attacked.
The distance from Olvia to the Moldovan border is nearly 200 kilometres. Romania is a neighbour of Moldova.
The bulk carrier had arrived in Ukraine on Feb 22. Russia invaded the country on Feb 24. A rocket struck the vessel on Mar 2, killing one of the crew.
The remaining sailors and engineers then left the vessel, declaring it abandoned.
They then took refuge in a bunker, according to the families. According to ambassador Sultana Laila Hossain, they were there until Friday night.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam had, at first, suggested bringing the 28 on board the ship to Poland, but it was later decided that moving them across the border to Moldova and then Romania was a more feasible course of action.
