MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid defender José Emilio Santamaría, a Uruguayan who won four European Cups as part of the club's golden generation of players from the 1950s and 1960s before becoming coach of Spain, has died at age 96.
“Santamaría will always be remembered as one of the great symbols of our club,” Madrid president Florentino Pérez said in a statement on Wednesday.
The cause of death was not made public.
Born on July 31, 1929 in Montevideo, Santamaría joined Madrid in 1957. He helped it win European Cups in 1958, 1959, 1960 and in 1966, playing alongside such legends as Alfredo Di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskas.
He also helped it win six Spanish league titles, among other trophies, during his 337 appearances.
Uruguay international Santamaría began his coaching career the season after he retired from Madrid in 1966. He led Spain in the Summer Olympics of 1968 and 1980 and for its home 1982 World Cup.
Starting in 1971, he also coached Espanyol for seven seasons.
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FILE -Former Real Madrid soccer players Enrique Perez "Pachin", left, and Jose Emilio Santamaria leave La Fe hospital in Valencia, Spain, Dec. 27, 2005 after visiting their former teammate Alfredo di Stefano, of Argentina. (AP Photo/Fernando Bustamante, File)
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — At least 250 people, including Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals, were missing after a boat capsized in the Andaman Sea recently on the way to Malaysia, according to the United Nations’ refugee and migration agencies.
While details remained sketchy, Bangladesh Coast Guard spokesperson Lt. Com. Sabbir Alam Suzan told The Associated Press on Wednesday that nine people, including three Rohingya and six Bangladeshis, were rescued on April 9. Suzan said the Bangladesh flag carrier M.T. Meghna Pride rescued the nine people when the crew found them floating at sea after the capsize.
When the boat sank and the status of any search Wednesday were unclear.
The U.N. high commissioner for refugees and the International Organization for Migration in a joint statement said Tuesday that the trawler departed from Teknaf in the southern Bangladeshi district of Cox’s Bazar carrying a large number of passengers to Malaysia.
Overcrowding, strong winds and rough seas caused the vessel to lose control and sink, the agencies said.
Shari Nijman, a UNCHR communication officer in Cox’s Bazar, said Wednesday that the agency had no other updates.
Another coast guard media official told the AP by phone Wednesday that the rescued people, eight men and one woman, were all safe after being handed over to the coast guard, who brought them to the police in Teknaf.
The official said the rescue was not part of any official search operation as it is outside Bangladesh territory, and that the crew of the M.T. Meghna Pride saved the people while it was on its way to Indonesia from Bangladesh's Chittagong.
The official spoke by phone on condition of anonymity in line with official policy.
UNHCR and IOM said the disappearance reflected the protracted displacement of Rohingya people and the absence of durable solutions.
They said ongoing violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state has made the Rohingya’s safe return to Myanmar uncertain, while limited humanitarian assistance, as well as restricted access to education and employment in refugee camps, continue to push vulnerable Rohingya refugees to choose risky sea journeys, often based on false promises of higher wages and better opportunities abroad.
UNHCR and IOM urged the international community to strengthen funding and solidarity to ensure lifesaving assistance for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, which has sheltered more than 1 million Rohingya from Myanmar.
FILE -Rohingya Muslims, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, wait in queues to receive aid at Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhiya, Bangladesh, Nov. 15, 2017. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad, File)
FILE- Fishing boats sit on a beach in Teknaf, Bangladesh, on March 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu, File)
