Bagerhat Correspondent :
After long 9 days the removal work of coal from the balk-head ship MV. Fardina-1 that sank in the harbour area of the Pashur channel of Mongla Sea Port started on Wednesday noon. The coal importer enterprises and the owner party of the sunken ship are doing the removal of the coal. A team consists of 15 divers of ‘Bhai Bhai Salvage Enterprises’ of Narayanganj is engaged in the removal work of the coal. Md. Fazlul Haq Khokon, the owner of the sunken ship told, after the removal of all coal the ship will be salvaged.
He added, as the balk-head ship has been under water for long nine days its hatch was completely filled with sands and side by side layers sands formed on the loaded coal. Md. Sattar Hawladar, leader the salvation team told, it will take times to remove the coal and salvage the sunken ship.
It may be mentioned here that at the time of sinking the ship there were as many seven staff in it. 2 of them were rescued alive at the night of accident. But 5 others were missing.
On the following day after long 18 hours and 2 dead bodies out 5 missing staff were recovered from the channel of the port while on the third day another dead body of the missing staff was recovered from the southern of the harbour. Though the rescue operation was dropped by the concerned authorities the relatives of the missing 2 staff are still searching the Pshur channel by trawlers to recover them either alive or dead.
It is mentionable here that at the night of November 15 (at about 9-30 pm) the balk-head ship was loaded with 600 tones coal from a foreign mother vessel named MV. Elina-B anchored with jetty No.9 in the harabour area of Mongla Port and left the place for Dhaka it collided with another foreign mother vessel (that was leaving the port after unloading goods).
As a result, the balk-head ship was fatally damaged and sank in harbour only 700 neters of the jetty. Commander Shaikh Fakhar Uddin Harbour Master of Mongla Port authorities told the newsmen, the sunken balk-head had no updated fitness certificate issued by the BIWTA.
