All forces to join rescue work

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered all relevant wings of the government to join rescue operations following a ferry disaster in which a launch with more than 200 passengers on board sank in the Padma River.

Photo: asif mahmud ove/ bdnews24.com Photo: asif mahmud ove/ bdnews24.com

Photo: asif mahmud ove/ bdnews24.com Photo: asif mahmud ove/ bdnews24.com

2 teams to probe launch mishap

Witness shoots Pinak-6 sinking

Hundreds drown in Padma

The Army, Navy, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), coast guard, fire service, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and the local administration had been asked to step in after Pinak-6 drowned on Monday morning, Hasina’s special assistant Mahbubul Moque Shakil told bdnews24.com.

Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan was coordinating the rescue work at her instruction, he said.

Rescue vessels ‘Rustom’ and ‘Hamza’ were heading towards Munshiganj’s Mawa, the accident site.

The overloaded launch was going from Kewrakandi to Mawa at 11am when it began to list and sank in the face of strong currents at the Louhajang turning point.

Witnesses said Pinak-6 was carrying more than 200 passengers. Two bodies had been recovered until the afternoon.