State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Thursday said the government is trying to move 28 crew members of Bangladeshi ship Banglar Samriddhi to Warsaw, Poland from war-ravaged Ukraine.
In a video message, he said the crew have already been taken to a relatively safe place from the ship that came under attack leaving its third engineer dead on Wednesday.
He said the crew members are also carrying with them the body of deceased Hadisur Rahman, a 47-year-old Bangladesh national.
The state minister said the government, in consultation with the Shipping Ministry, will bring back the 28 crew members and the body of the third engineer if the crew members can safely enter Poland.
Earlier in the day, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said the 28 crew members stranded on a Bangladeshi ship in war-torn Ukraine have been shifted to a relatively safer place there.
The sailors, all of them Bangladeshis, have moved out from the ship, Banglar Samriddhi, he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday. He did not, however, give details about the safe place.
The foreign secretary also said Bangladesh Ambassador to Poland Sultana Laila Hossain talked to the captain of the ship.
Masud Momen also said Bangladesh Missions in neighbouring countries of Ukraine remain ready as they are exploring ways to find a convenient route for their safe exit from Ukraine.
The ship has already been declared abandoned considering volatile situation there.
Bangladeshi crew in Ukraine: Govt trying to evacuate them to Poland, says Shahriar
He said around 600 Bangladeshis are now in Poland and 100 of them are staying there under Polish government arrangements.
Expressing deep condolences to the near and dear ones of deceased Hadisur Rahman, the Russian Embassy in Dhaka on Thursday said the Russian side “bends every effort” to ensure safe departure of the Bangladeshi ship from the port.
The Command of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, relying on the objective monitoring data, has repeatedly stated that, during the retreat, the Ukrainian nationalists open indiscriminate fire and deliberately capture hostages, use them as a “human shield”, resorting to the well-known terrorists’ tactic, said the Embassy.
The BSC ship was positioned in the inner anchorage of Olvia port (Ukraine), when Hadisur was killed due to a missile attack.
“The circumstances of the incident are being established,” said the embassy.
For resolving the humanitarian issues arising from the special military operation in Ukraine, including the requests for evacuation of the civilians, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation has launched the hotline +7 495 498-34-46, +7 495 498-42-11, +7 495 498-41-09.
Source: United News of Bangladesh