The rescuers and the salvage ships could not yet locate the ill-fated launch Pinak-6, capsized in the Padma River at Lauhajang upazila in Munshiganj, even after four days of the incident. Survey ship- ‘Kandari-2’- started its operation on Wednesday midnight to locate the launch, while three other salvage vessels – ‘Rustom’, ‘Nirbhik’ and ‘Jorip-10’- reached the spot earlier, but they can’t start their work of rescuing the submerged vessel till filing the report at about 10:00pm on Thursday due to the uncertainty of the location of the sunken launch.Divers of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), Fire Brigade and Bangladesh Navy, Police and Coast Guard were jointly operating the rescue operation. Since Tuesday night, the rescue teams have been conducting an intensive search covering some kilometers of the spot, as over 100 people remained missing following the launch capsize. Captain of Bangladesh Navy Nurul Islam told newsmen that they were using all latest technology and well-equipped machines to locate and rescue the launch, but they failed till Thursday evening due to strong current in the turbulent river. A joint intensive search is continuing with side-scan SONAR machines, and it would continue until the launch was located, he said. Meanwhile, police are yet arrest the owner of the launch and its other staff although the BIWTA filed a case against them on Tuesday with Lauhajang Police Station as they were responsible for checking the fitness of the vessel. Besides, they were also responsible to look into whether the launch was overcrowded with passengers.Officer-in-Charge of the Lauhajang Police Station Tofazzal Hossain told The New Nation yesterday that they were trying to arrest the accused persons through tracking their mobile phones and other technology. Mobile phone of the launch owner remained switch off since the case was filed, and for this reason, arrest of the prime accused and others were being delayed. “We have already raided his (owner) residence and the residences of his close relatives to arrest him,” he said. He, however, hoped that they would be able to arrest them soon. On the other hand, family members and relatives of the missing people expressed their frustration over, what they said, the government’s inept handling of the situation. They had given up hope of getting their loved ones alive, but they wished to get at least their bodies. They were waiting on the bank of the Padma River only for bodies. Some of them received the bodies of their relatives after 13 more bodies were recovered on Thursday. The relatives of the victims and the rescued passengers of the launch said the tragedy was not ‘an accident but killing’. They want arrest and exemplary punishment of those who were involved with the faulty management. They also demanded resignation of Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan. Talking to The New Nation, Shajahan Khan said that he ordered legal action against the owner of the launch and others, as it was running over capacity. Meanwhile, Communications Minister Obaidul Quader said the government could not avert the responsibility of the incident. He said this while talking to reporters at his office in the Secretariat. The minister, however, opposed the resignation demand of his cabinet colleague Shajahan Khan. The death toll from Monday’s launch capsize rose to at least 35. Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Munshiganj Md Saiful Hasan told media that the bodies were recovered from different points of the two rivers- Padma and Meghna – in Munshiganj, Chandpur, Bhola, Shariatpur, Laxmipur, Madaripur and Barisal districts from Monday to Thursday night.Of them, nine bodies were recovered from Bhola while eight from Shariatpur, four in Chandpur, five in Barisal, one in Laxmipur and seven from near the spot of incident in Munshiganj and rest bodies were recovered from Madaripur. Of the total 35 bodies, 19 were handed over to the victims’ family members. The administration gave Tk 30,000 for each victims’ family for burial. Over 120 passengers of the double-decker launch are still remained missing, while about 100 passengers were rescued alive, according to the information centre set up by the district administration at Mawa Ghat.In Munshiganj, the rescuers on Thursday recovered the body of a woman in the morning floating in the Padma River where Pinak-6 sank on Monday. The identity of the deceased could not be known immediately. Two other bodies were also recovered from the area. In Barisal, three bodies were found floating in Meghna and Elisha rivers. The bodies could be of the missing passengers of Pinak-6, said Uzzal Kumar Dey and Md Alauddin, officers-in-charge of Mehendiganj and Muladi Police Stations. Of the three, bodies of two people including one of a two-year-old baby were recovered from Muladi while another from Mehendiganj.In Bhola, the bodies of three more people were found floating in the Meghna River in Monpura, Lalmohon and Sadar upazila in the morning. Two other bodies were recovered in the Meghna in Shariatpur, while other bodies recovered from Madaripur.
