At least 10 among 18 Bangladeshi migrants died in the Mediterranean Sea late Friday during a six-day suffering to reach Europe from Libya were from three upazilas in Sunamganj, the local administration said.

The deceased are — Nuruzzaman Sardar alias Moyna, 30, son of Abu Sayeed Sardar, Sajidur Rahman, 28, son of Abdul Gani, and Shahan Miah, 25, son of Islam Uddin, of village Tarapasha under Kulanj union at Derai upazila in Sunamganj, Mujibur Rahman, 38, son of Abdul Malek of village Charnarchar at the same upazila, Abu Fahim, son of Fayez Uddin of village Kabirnagar in Doarabazar upazila, and Sohanur Rahman of village Chilaura, Shayekh Ahmed of village Tiargaon, Md Nayeem of village Chilaura Kabirpur, Aminur Rahman of village Pailgaon and Mohammad Ali of village Ichhagaon of Jagannathpur upazila, Sunamganj, police said. 

Additional superintendent of Sunamganj district police, Sujan Sarker, confirmed the deaths of ten youths in the Mediterranean Sea.

He told New Age on Sunday morning that they had contacted with the victims’ family members and they confirmed about the deaths of their family members.

‘We already sent the details of the deceased to the higher authorities concerned and they will take further steps in this regard,’ Sujan Sarker said responding to a query.

He said that of the ten deceased, four were residents of Derai upazila, five of Jagannathpur and one of Doarabazar upazila in the district.

According to the Bangladeshi migrants rescued from near the Greece coast, many of the passengers of a rubber-boat fell ill one by one due to acute shortage of food and drinking water during the long and risky sea trip.

Many of the sick migrants died and their bodies were thrown into the Mediterranean Sea following order of the human traffickers who were also on the boat, they said.

Kulanj union parishad member Shahnur Miah, also a resident of the village Tarapasha, told reporters that Rohan Ahmed, one of the survivors in risky boat journey, informed the victims’ families about the death of Nuruzzaman, Sayeed, Sajidur and Shahan of the village.

‘They were taken from Libya to Greece in a rubber boat,’ Shahnur mentioned as saying by Rohan.

Referring Shahan’s elder brother Mohammad Zakaria, Shahnur said that family of each of the hoping migrants had made a deal with a broker to go to Greece via Libya in exchange of Tk 12 lakh.

‘They left home last month. Half of the amount has been paid after they reached Libya. There was no trace of them for a few days. On Saturday afternoon, Rohan informed the death news of his four neighbours over phone,’ he added.

He said that according to the agreement, they (migrants) were supposed to travel by a large and safe boat, but the traffickers eventually tried to transfer them by a small and risky boat.

According to the news agencies, a group of people were traveling from North African country Libya to Europe crossing the Mediterranean Sea by a rubber vessel. At least 22 migrants died off the coast of Greece after six days in the sea, survivors of the journey told the Greek coast guard on Saturday.

21 Bangladeshis, four South Sudanese and a national of Chad were rescued alive from the horrific situation, the news agencies reported.