23 Saved, 50 Missing in Bangladesh Boat Capsizing

Boat contained illegal migrants on way to Malaysia

Nearby fishing boats helped rescue 23 people after a boat crowded with illegal migrants capsized Wednesday off Bangladesh's coast, but about 50 others remained missing, officials said.

About 70 illegal migrants, mostly Rohingya Muslims, were reportedly traveling on the boat to Malaysia when it sank in the Bay of Bengal.

Border commander Lt. Col. Zahid Hossain said no bodies had been recovered so far, but quoted survivors as saying they saw some bodies after the boat sank off Bangladesh's Teknaf coast, 320 kilometers (200 miles) south of Dhaka.