At least 48 fishermen from Barguna and Patuakhali remained missing for four days since Thursday evening trawler owners and fishing community leaders expressed fears on Sunday that their fishing trawlers capsized in the Bay of Bengal during storm. They told New Age that 32 missing fishermen were from Barguna and 16 others from Patuakhali. Coast Guard officials told New Age that since receiving information about the missing fishermen from different places they launched rescue operations in the Bay. Barguna district Fishermen-Trawler Owners’ Association president Golam Mostafa Chowdhury told New Age that at least 32 fishermen on three boats from Kalapara, Barguna remained missing. He said that 11 fishermen were on Fishing Boat Tanjila, four on FB Arman and 17 on board the FB Maa. Quoting his organization members, he said that at least nine fishing boats capsized in the deep sea near Fairway Boya, Narkelbaria and Dubla during Thursday night’s storm. He said that on Friday and Saturday fishermen rescued most of 99 fishermen floating in the bay 14 others from the channels passing through the Sunderbans. He said that some of the fishermen were rescued by the Coast Guard and the Bangladesh Navy. Mostafa said that contacted 39 fishermen who with their fishing boats were carried away to Kakdwip off India’s West Bengal coast. He said that they told him that they were safe and in good health. New Age Correspondent in Patuakhali reported that 16 fishermen from the district on board three fishing trawlers were missing. He reported that eight of the missing fishermen were on board the Fishing Boat Nur, seven on FB Swapan and one was on the FB Sajeda. They are from villages in Kalapara upazila, Patuakhali, said Alipur-Mahipur Fish Traders’ Cooperative Society president Ansar Uddin Molla. The missing fishermen on board FB Nur are Nur Islam, 30, Shahjahan, 36, Khaleq, 50, Nur Jamal, 28, Shahidul, 30, Rasel 25, Harun, 55 and Sabuj, 40, said Md Monirul Islam of Kalapara, the owner of the fishing boat. The Cooperative Society president Ansar said that FB Sajeda was carrying 16 fishermen, 15 of whom were now at Pekuar Khal in West Bengal, India and the boat was missing with a fisherman. Coast Guard west zone staff officer for operations Lieutenant Zahid Al Hasan told New Age that all the five Coast Guard Stations in the Sunderbans were continuing the search for the missing fishermen.