In Photos: Bangladesh Ships Over 1,500 Rohingya Refugees to Remote Island Despite Outcry

Authorities in Bangladesh on Friday sent the first group of more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. The 1,642 refugees boarded seven Bangladeshi naval vessels in the port of Chittagong for the trip to Bhashan Char, according to an official who could not be named in accordance with local practice. Photo: Reuters

After about a three-hour trip they arrived at the island, which was once regularly submerged by monsoon rains but now has flood protection embankments, houses, hospitals and mosques built at a cost of more than $112 million by the Bangladesh navy. Photo: Reuters

Before they boarded the ships they were also given face masks to protect against COVID-19. The island's facilities are built to accommodate 100,000 people, just a fraction of the million Rohingya Muslims who have fled waves of violent persecution in their native Myanmar and are currently living in crowded, squalid refugee camps in Cox's Bazar district. Photo: Reuters

Rohingyas that will be shifted to Bhasan Char island are seen onboard a bus in Chattogram, Bangladesh, December 4, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

Rohingyas are seen inside a tent as they wait to board a ship as they are moving to Bhasan Char island in Chattogram, Bangladesh, December 4, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

Rohingyas that will be shifted to Bhasan Char island look on from the window of a bus in Chattogram, Bangladesh, December 4, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

Rohingyas are seen onboard a ship as they are moving to Bhasan Char island in Chattogram, Bangladesh, December 4, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

Rohingyas sit onboard a ship as they move to Bhasan Char island near Chattogram, Bangladesh, December 4, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain