Published : 25 Sep 2026, 11:43 PM
Updated : 25 Sep 2026, 11:44 PM
Four members of a family from Cumilla’s Homna Upazila remain missing a day after the trawler carrying them sank in the Meghna River while on its way to a relative’s wedding in Narayanganj’s Sonargaon.
The Fire Service, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), Coast Guard and Naval Police are searching the river to rescue the missing, but none have been found as of 10pm on Friday.
The rescue operation is continuing, said Homna Upazila executive officer (UNO) Shahidul Islam.
A trawler carrying 13 passengers capsized in the river in front of the Aman Cement Factory in the Sonamayi area of Sonargaon around 4:45pm on Thursday afternoon amid gusty winds.
The body of a woman named Raisa Khatun, 40, was recovered after the incident. In addition, four members of the same family went missing - a father, his two sons and his daughter.
The missing have been identified as 54-year-old Helal Uddin, an autorickshaw driver from Srimudhi village in Homna, his sons Sajib Hossain, 24, and Samin Hossain, 5, and daughter Samia Akhter, 17.
Raisa, who was found dead, is the wife of Zakir Hossain from Kailkapur village in Brahmanbaria’s Bancharampur. She was the aunt of the missing Helal.
Sonargaon Police Station chief Abdul Malek said there was a strong current where the trawler capsized. The rescue operation, which was suspended on the night of the incident, resumed on Friday morning. The trawler was recovered by the rescue teams as of the evening, but four people remain missing.
The River Police and Fire Service said that 13 people left for Haria Baidyepara village in Sonargaon from Srimudhi village in Homna Upazila to attend the wedding of their relative Sazia Akhter. Two cows and a goat were also on the trawler for the wedding.
On the way, the wind along the Meghna River suddenly picked up. This created strong waves and water started rising into the trawler. At one point, the trawler sank. A trawler from the nearby Aman Cement Factory rushed and launched a rescue operation, saving eight people. Rashida Begum's body was recovered from the river about half an hour later.
The rescued Shirin Begum said that she had set off in the trawler to attend the wedding when the trawler sank on the way. A trawler from the cement factory came and rescued eight of them, she said.
Abdullah Al Arefin, deputy director of the Narayanganj Fire Service and Civil Defence, said that despite a day-long operation in search of the missing, no other bodies had been recovered.
Shah Kamal, inspector of the Baidyerbazar River Police Outpost, said that personnel from the Fire Service, River Police and local police are worked to rescue the missing.
