Missing college student's body recovered from Cox’s Bazar beach

The body of a 17-year-old college student has been recovered 15 hours after he went missing while swimming at Cox’s Bazar sea beach.

The victim, Zuhair Ayman, was from Bogura municipality’s Katnarpara area. He went missing on Sunday afternoon after being swept away by strong waves at the beach’s Laboni Point, a popular spot for tourists.

District administration official Md Azim Khan said his body was recovered around 6am on Monday from a section of the beach near Samiti Para.

Fire Service and lifeguard teams carried out joint search operations late into Sunday night under the supervision of the district administration.

While lifeguards managed to rescue two of Ayman’s companions on Sunday, he could not be found despite hours of search efforts.

Ayman’s body is being prepared to be taken back to Bogura after completion of legal procedures, his family said.

Imtiaz Ahmad, regional manager of Sea-Safe Lifeguards, said there are several hidden channels in parts of the beach.

“The area at Laboni Point where the tourist went missing had already been marked with red flags as dangerous,” he said. “Tourists should follow lifeguards’ warnings before entering the sea.”

Previously, on Jul 8, three students from Chittagong University went missing while bathing at Himchhari beach on the Marine Drive. The bodies of two were later recovered, but one student, Aritra Hasan, remains untraced.