Staff Reporter :Two launches carrying over 1500 passengers miraculously escaped sinking despite a fierce head-on collision in the mid Chandpur estuary in the River Meghna in the small hours of Tuesday.Deputy Director of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority [BIWTA] at Chandpur Mohammad Mobarak Hossain said that both the launches managed to reach their destinations safely at last. Three members of a family including a minor boy, however, were killed and 10 others received severe injuries due to the impact of the massive thud as one launch rammed into another with full force near Boro Station.Of them, ‘MV Parabat-9’ was heading for Barisal from Dhaka while ‘MV Sundarban-8’ was on its way to Dhaka from Barisal.The victims were identified as Sahana Begum, 60, Shakil, 6 and Rupa Begum, 27, hailed from Barisal. They used to live in Lalbagh of old Dhaka.Nine of the injured were identified as Fazlul Karim, 61, Dalia Begum, 38, Shiuli Begum, 45, Mostafa Kamal, 30, Suraiya Begum, 25, Rabbi,11, Sheuly,35, Dalia,38, and Monwara,50, while identity of the rest could not be known immediately. They were admitted to Chandpur Sadar Hospital. Additional Superintendent of Police of Chandpur, Qamrul Islam, said that MV Parabat-9 collided head-on with MV Sundarban-8 due to dense fog in the area at about 1:30 am, leaving Shakil dead on the spot and several others injured. “Later, Sahana died on way to Dhaka. The injured were rushed to Combined Military Hospital [CMH] in Dhaka where Rupa succumbed to her injures at about 8:30 am,” he said.Officials said Shahana is mother of a navy officer, Lt. Commander Mostafa Kamal, who was among those injured along with his wife and sister.She was travelling in the VIP cabin of ‘Sundarban-8’ and died instantly, said Barisal City Councillor Sultana Hanufa , who was also in the launch. A survivour named Md Kabir who had also been travelling with the ‘MV Sundarban-8’ said that the launch started from Barisal at 8.45 pm . Around 1:30am past midnight, the ‘MV Parabat-9’ rammed into it on the Meghna river and badly damaged its cabins.Abdul Qaiyum, Officer-in-Charge of Chandpur Sadar Model Police Station said no case was filed with the concerned police station till yesterday evening.Chandpur River Police official Mohd Monir Hossain said the ‘Parabat-9’ turned back towards Dhaka after the collision and sailed away. Legal action will be initiated against the ‘Parabat-9’ crew, he said.Meanwhile, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority cancelled route permits of both of the launches hours after the collision, Shafiqul Haque, director [River Safety and Traffic] of BIWTA said.
