A woman has gone missing while a man broke his leg in the collision
Published : 05 Jan 2024, 10:58 AM
A woman is reported missing and a man has been injured following a head-on collision between a launch and a cargo vessel in dense fog on the Meghna River in Chandpur.
The collision involving the Sundarban-16 launch and the anchored Marcantile-3 cargo vessel occurred around 1:30 am on Friday, according to MD Moniruzzaman, the chief of Mohanpur River Police Outpost.
Rina Begum, a passenger on the launch and the wife of an army sergeant, is missing, while another passenger with a broken leg has been admitted to Chandpur Sadar Hospital.
The Sundarban-16, headed from Dhaka to Barishal with around 2,000 passengers, collided with the cargo ship anchored near Ekhlaspur village after midnight amid dense fog, Moniruzzaman said.
The collision caused damage to the midsection of the launch, but the captain managed to steer the vessel to the shore. Both vessels are currently anchored in Ekhlaspur, and all passengers were evacuated with the assistance of the river police, according to Chandpur Regional River Police Superintendent Md Kamruzzaman.
The Sundarban-15 later transported half of the passengers to their destinations, while the Sundarban-14 was en route to carry the remaining passengers.
Fire service personnel are conducting a search and rescue mission for the missing woman, said Kamruzzaman.