Dhaka, Dec. 29 -- Six vessels set sail from a jetty adjacent to the naval boat club in Chattogram at 9:15 am on Tuesday. They were scheduled to reach the island by noon.

The number of refugees heading to the remote island in the second phase of relocation has 'exceeded expectations', Rear Admiral Md Mozammel Haque, commander of Chattogram Naval Area, told reporters.

"Initially, about 1,200 Rohingyas were expected to leave, but now 1,804 are going to Bhasan Char."

Two years ago, the government made plans to relocate a portion of the 1.1 million forcibly-displaced Rohingya people living in and outside the refugee camps along Bangladesh's south coast to Bhasan Char, situated in the Meghna River's estuary near Hatia.

On Dec 4, the first g...