7 bodies found after Jamuna boat capsize

Seven bodies have been recovered after a boat, reportedly carrying over a hundred passengers, sank in the Jamuna River at Chawhali Upazila in Sirajganj.

Chawhali Upazila Executive Officer Mohammad Abdullah said the incident took place at around 10am on Thursday near the Mituani Bazar boat pier.

Six of the dead were women, said Abdullah. Among the victims, three are from one family.

They are Khaskaulia resident Akhter Hossain, 42, his wife Dilu Akhter, 35, and the wife of his expatriate brother, whose name was not immediately available, said the UNO.

The others are Khaskaulia’s Anjuman Ara, 35, 'Rasheda', 25, and ‘Anguri’, 18. Another female victim is said to be from Madhya-Khaskaulia but her identity details were not available.

He said the boat was ferrying the passengers from Mituani Bazar to Char Salimabad. It capsized after hitting a rundown bridge near the pier, said Abdullah.

Abdul Latif, a witness, said though most of the passengers swam ashore, many failed to do so because of strong currents.

Locals, going about in their own boats in the rescue work, recovered the seven bodies.

A team of five divers from the fire service in Dhaka have joined the search.

Police were helping the locals, said UNO Mohammad Abdullah.

A medical team from the Upazila Health Complex was treating the survivors. They have been sent to the Tangail Sadar Hospital, Nagarpur and Chowhali Health Complexes.

Jainal Abedin said he managed to retrieve one body during a preliminary search but lost another to strong currents.

Sirajganj Deputy Commissioner (DC) Billal Hossain, Additional DC Shafikul Islam and Tangail DC Mahabub Rahman visited the site after learning of the incident.

“Four bodies are with the district commissioner. But it took the administration more than an hour to get here. I heard some bodies were already taken by their families. But I don’t have solid information,” he said.

Eight to ten were still missing until 5pm, he said. “The district administration will give Tk 10,000 to each family for the victims’ funerals.”

The Bangladesh Navy has been requested to join the search, he added.

“People are giving various numbers, but we believe 10 to 15 are still missing,” said Additional DC Shafikul Islam.