The bodies of four passengers, including two women, were recovered after a launch Pinak-6 carrying at least 250 passengers capsized in the river Padma near Mawa Ghat at Lauhajang upazila in Munshiganj on Monday morning. The Pinak-6 capsized in the middle of Padma when it was going to Mawa from Kawrakandi terminal around 11:00 am. The overloaded launch sank due to strong current, the police and witnesses said.In two other separate trawler incidents, two fishermen drowned in the river Meghna in Noakhali while one Malaysian bound passenger in the Bay of Bengal in Cox’s Bazar. Local people rescued at least 100 passengers from Padma river while many went missing till filing the report at about 9:00 pm, said Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Munshiganj Md Saiful Hassan. It was estimated that the number of missing people is about 100. Acting Superintendent of Police (SP) of Munshiganj Zakir Hossain Majumder told reporters that bodies of two women were recovered around 1:30 pm while the bodies of two others were recovered in the evening. One of the victims was identified as Heera Begum, 22, of Goaltola village under Shibchar upazila in Madaripur. The identities of two others could not the known immediately. The rescue operation started several hours after arrival of the salvage ship ‘Rustom’ in the spot from Narayanganj. However, the locals took part in the rescue operation immediately after the incident. Divers from Fire Brigade and Civil Defence, Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guard took part in the rescue operation. Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) also sent a helicopter to strengthen the rescue work, said Mufti Mahmud Khan, director of legal and media wing of RAB headquarters. Rescuers said the salvage operation is being disrupted due to strong currents.Police, quoting Mawa Ghat’s Launch Owners’ Association President Iqbal Hossain, said that over 250 passengers were on board the launch, almost all the occupants were returning to Dhaka after celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr at their respective village homes. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ordered all relevant wings of the government to join rescue operations. Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan and other high officials visited the spot. The government announced Tk 20,000 for each of the deceased family. Two separate probe committees have been formed to investigate the incident. Department of Shipping has formed a four-member probe body headed by its Engineer and Ship Surveyor Nazmul Haque, while Shipping Ministry formed a seven-member committee headed by its Joint Secretary Nurur Rahman. The probe bodies have been asked to submit their reports by the next seven and 10 working days respectively, said Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan. Trawlers capsizeIn Noakhali, two fishermen drowned as a trawler capsized in the river Meghna near Thengarchar in Hatiya upazila on Sunday night. Police recovered the bodies of the unidentified fishermen on Monday morning. Sub-Inspector of Hatiya Police Station Monir Hossain said that the fishing trawler sank in the river amid storm with 17 people on board around 9:00 pm. The 15 other fishermen managed to swim ashore. Meanwhile, a Malaysia-bound trawler carrying 30 people capsized in the Bay of Bengal in Cox’s Bazar early Monday. Shaheen, 35, a passenger of the trawler and son of Jahirul Haque of Hadiabad of Narsingdi district, was found floating with the wreckage of the sunken trawler near Diabetic Hospital point of Cox’s Bazar sea beach. Local people rescued him and took him to Sadar hospital. The other passengers were still missing till filing the report. Mahfuzur Rahman, Officer-in-Charge of Cox’s Bazar Police Station, said that the trawler was going to Malaysia illegally with the help of a broker Nazrul, a resident of Araihazar upazila of Narayanganj, in exchange of Tk 1.50 lakh. When they started for Malaysia around 3:00am the trawler sank in the Bay of Bengal near Laboni point of the beach due to strong current early Monday, said the OC.
