70 missing as boat capsizes in Bay of Bengal

At least 70 people were missing in the Bay of Bengal Wednesday after a boat crowded with undocumented migrants who had set sail for Malaysia capsized, dpa quoted officials as saying. Some 55 passengers were rescued by coastguards, the navy and local fishermen. Risky and illegal voyages from Bangladeshi to Malaysia are frequent, as poor Bangladeshi workers are lured by the prospects of better jobs. The boat capsized some 15 kilometres off the coast, said Lieutenant Colonel Zahid Hasan of Bangladesh's border force. This is the second such tragedy in the bay waters in less than two weeks.