28 crew members of Bangladeshi ship safely reach Romanian capital

The 28 rescued Bangladeshi crew members, who crossed the border into Romania from Ukraine, have safely reached Bucharest.

"They arrived in Bucharest around noon local time [BD time 4:00 pm]," an official of the Bangladesh embassy in Romania told The Daily Star.

"The sailors are now staying in a hotel and we are in the process of buying tickets for their returning home," he said.

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh Ambassador to Romania Daud Ali said it took about 16 hours for the sailors to reach the Romanian border because of huge traffic on the road as a lot of people are fleeing Ukraine that is fighting Russian invasion. Generally, it takes four to five hours.

The crew members of Banglar Samriddhi, owned by Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, were stranded at the Olvia Port of Ukraine since February 23 because of the war.

On March 2, a crewman was killed in a missile attack. The rest of the crew members were then taken ashore for safety.