COX’S BAZAR (Bangladesh): Dozens of endangered sea turtles have washed up dead along the southern Bangladesh coast over the last week, conservation officials said on Wednesday.

At least 20 turtles — ranging from 40-60 kilograms — were found dead on Monday and Tuesday alone, and more were reportedly found on other parts of the sandy coast, conservation official M A Hannan said.

Pollution and the use of illegal nets by fishermen near the shoreline were believed responsible for the deaths of the Olive ridley turtle species in Cox’s Bazar district, but conservationists were investigating, he said.

Olive ridleys, the smallest of all sea turtles, are endangered. They come ashore during September to March to lay eggs along Bangladesh’s coast, Hannan said.

Last year, several hundred of the turtles died along the same coast, officials said.

Ainun Nishat, local head of the Geneva-based World Conservation Union, said the government should focus on informing fishermen how to properly release turtles caught in their nets.

The government has launched a conservation project with the help of the United Nations Development Program to protect turtle eggs on beaches. “We have already collected more than 1,500 eggs,” said Hannan.—AP