Six fishermen from Sittwe were hospitalized while another six are missing after pirates attacked their fishing boats in the Bay of Bengal near the border with Bangladesh, said a fishing boat owner.

"Six fishermen were admitted to the Sittwe general hospital. One of them is critically injured and six fishermen have been missing along with their fishing boat," he said.

Fishing boat owner Soe Than Naing from Kyaw Daw fishing village in Sittwe was seriously injured and is in a critical condition.

The incident occurred on Saturday while the men were fishing in five boats out at sea near Kyauk Pan Du Village near Maungdaw, on the western border of Burma, a local source said.

A group of pirates from Bangladesh approached the fishermen in a speedboat and looted all their property, including their fuel and fishing nets.

When fishermen near by saw what was happening, they attempted to flee in their boats, but the pirates opened fire on them with hand-made machine guns. Many fishermen were injured in the attack, and six of them were hospitalized when they reached Sittwe.

"A fishing boat was still missing along with six other fishermen after the incident took place. We are anxious about them and we filed a case at the police station in Sittwe yesterday," he said.

Pirates in Bangladesh habitually collect toll from Bangladesh fishing boats and commit robberies in Bangladesh waters, but haven't before encroached on Burmese territorial waters to attack Burmese fishing boats.

The fisherman said, "We hope the authorities will take action and provide proper security to Burmese fishing boats at sea," a local source said.