Missing cleaner found dead after 25 hours in Old Dhaka drain

After more than 25 hours of frantic rescue efforts, firefighters have recovered the body of a sanitation worker who went missing while cleaning a drain in Old Dhaka.

Fire Service and Civil Defence personnel recovered the body of Md Milon, known as "Diver Milon", about 400m from the manhole where he entered the drain.

On Thursday morning, Milon and several other workers were cleaning a drain near Nalgola of Ward No. 30.

He entered the drain through a manhole but went missing about an hour later after the oxygen line snapped when he resurfaced, prompting a search by co-workers before the Fire Service launched a rescue operation.

Local resident Mojahidul Islam said rescuers located Milon's body after digging up sections of the road while tracing the drain network.

Md Rashedur Rahman Russell, sanitation inspector for Ward No. 30 of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), said authorities were informed of the incident shortly after 1pm on Thursday. 

Government agencies and other organisations joined the operation, which extended from Nalgola towards the embankment road.

He said Milon worked for a private contractor engaged by the city corporation but did not identify the company.

The DSCC workers at the scene said the contract was awarded to a contractor known only as Babu and supervised by another individual known only as Mona.

Rozina Akter, Fire Service control room duty officer, said firefighters recovered Milon's body at 2:30pm on Friday.