Missing child’s body found in canal at Chattogram’s Rajakhali

The police believe the child was about 8 years old

The dead body of a child has been recovered from Chattogram’s Rajakhali Canal 14 hours after he went missing from Chaktai Canal near the Karnaphuli River.

Jashim Uddin, an official of Chattogram’s Agrabad Fire Service, said the child’s body was found around 6am on Wednesday.

The police are assuming that the child was about 8-years-old.

Aftab Hossain, the officer-in-charge of Baklia Police Station, told bdnews24.com, “The child’s body was stuck in the Rajakhali Canal near Road No.14 due to the tide.”

The child drowned while swimming in the Chaktai Canal near the sluice gate around 4:30pm on Tuesday.

“We have been looking for the child’s family ever since we were notified about the drowning incident. But so far, no one has come forward. The locals have not been able to identify the body even after it was recovered,” said OC Aftab.

Agrabad Fire Service Officer Jashim said, “Our diving teams searched the canal until 8pm on Tuesday. But they did not find anyone. Later, we went to Rajakhali after hearing that a dead body was found around 6am.”

“Tidal waters enter the Rajakhali Canal through the Chaktai sluice gate from the Karnaphuli River, so the child’s body was washed away to Rajakhali,” he added.

According to Officer Jashim, the distance from the place of disappearance to Rajakhali Canal, where the body was found, may be 0.5 km.

“We came to the spot after the locals reported that two or three children had gone missing. Some even said that one of the two children who fell into the water was rescued, but they could not save the other child. Others had said that both were missing,” he added.

Bahadur, a local fish trader who was present at the scene, said, “We were bathing in the river around 4pm when two women informed us a child was drowning in the water. We rushed to pull the child out of the water but couldn’t hold onto him due to the strong water current.”

According to Bahadur, the child slipped out of his hands and drowned in the water.

Later, the Fire Service diving team arrived to search the Chaktai Canal and sluice gate area.

According to the police, there was a high tide in the river when the child drowned.

“There was no current in the river at that time, so the water from the river entered the Rajakhali Canal.”