Bangladesh rescues 60 fishermen

Bangladesh authorities said Friday they had rescued at least 60 fishermen abducted last week by pirates in the Bay of Bengal, as naval and air forces crack down on criminal activity at sea. Coast guard Lieutenant Commander Shafiqul Alam told AFP the fishermen were captured by the Bangladeshi pirates as they were fishing close to the Sundarbans mangrove forest. "Initially, we thought some 50 fishermen were abducted, but we found more than 60," said Alam, adding the pirates abandoned the fishermen as naval personnel closed in. No pirates have been arrested, he said. Armed pirates routinely rob, kidnap or extort money from fishermen working along the coastline, and the government has deployed a force of 300 men to tackle the problem.