10,000 feared dead in Bangladesh disaster

Press, 5 December 1988, Page 10

10,000 feared dead in Bangladesh disaster

NZPA-Reuter Dhaka Bloated bodies floated in the Bay of Bengal yesterday as Bangladesh counted the cost of a cyclone and tidal waves which one official feared could have claimed up to 10,000 lives.

President Hossain Mohammad Ershad called an emergency meeting of his newlyformed national disater committee to co-ordinate aid for the survivors. His Government has appealed for international aid, particularly from Japan and Canada — two countries which gave substantial help to Bangladesh during past disasters. The number of confirmed dead reached 1552 on Sunday, but officials said 15,000 people were still missing after Tuesday’s cyclone.

“What we have so far are figures from the accessible areas; those from the inaccessible ones - are still awaited,” said the official.

“My fear is that the final figure should be between 5000 and 10,000.” Military helicopters dropped food and drink-

ing water to survivors on the islands worst hit by the tidal wave, and navy ships searched in heavy seas for people cut off since the storm.

Officials quoting navy rescuers said many bloated bodies had been found in the Bay of Bengal.

One survivor told Reuters he clung to a makeshift wooden raft before a navy vessel rescued him 15 miles out to sea.

It was the worst catastrophe to hit Bangladesh in 20 years. It struck when the country was still reeling from floods that killed 3000 people in August and September.

Coastal areas were swept by five-metre tidal waves generated by the 165 km/h cyclone which roared in off the Bay of Bengal. A spokesman at the disaster control headquarters in Dhaka told reporters more than 1000 bodies had been recovered so far and 15,000 people were missing from the 13 islands which took the brunt of the storm.