February 22, 2023
DHAKA – A Bangladeshi boy discovered in a cargo container in Malaysia’s Port Klang on January 17 arrived in Dhaka today.
A Malaysia airlines flight brought the 14-year-old Ratul Islam Fahim to Dhaka from Kuala Lumpur International Airport around 10:00pm, said Fakhrul Islam, assistant director of Expatriate Welfare Desk at Dhaka airport.
Malaysian Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail saw him off at the Airport. Bangladesh High Commissioner to Malaysia Golam Sarwar was also present there.
An official of the Bangladeshi high commission in Malaysia accompanied Fahim in the flight. The official is expected to hand over Fahim to his parents.
According to reports, on January 12, a ship named Integra left Chattogram port with 1,337 containers, including empty ones. It reached the outer anchorage of Port Klang on January 16.
But while the vessel was waiting for a berth, crewmembers heard a voice and bangs from a container.
Failing to identify the exact container, the captain informed the Port Klang authority, the ship’s local and Bangladeshi agents, and Marine Police.
The authorities berthed the vessel on January 17 night on an emergency basis.
After unloading six to seven empty containers, they found the boy.
A video clip of the boy being rescued from the empty container went viral.
The boy claimed he fell asleep inside the unlocked container and was unaware when it was locked.
The writer is an expatriate journalist living in Malaysia.