Cox’s Bazar: Rescuers on Friday recovered nine bodies from a trawler that sank in the Bay of Bengal in Khudiratek area of Kutubdia upazila while heading towards Malaysia with over 60 passengers on board on Thursday.

Kutubdia Coast Guard in-charge Tareque Mostafa said members of Coast Guard and Navy recovered nine bodies which got trapped inside the sunken launch.

“There might have been more bodies inside the sunken vessel as the trawler has not been fully salvaged yet,” he said.

A trawler, heading towards Malaysia through an illegal sea route, capsized in the Bay of Bengal early Thursday.

Among the passengers, 31 were rescued from Kutubdia while 10 others from Masheshkhali on the same day.

Kutubdia police officer in-charge Angsha Thoai said a case was filed against the rescued passengers as they were trying to go to Malaysia illegally with the help of human traffickers.