Staff Reporter :
The death toll from the speedboat accident in the Meghna river has gone up to four.
The accident took place around 9:30pm near Guagachia union, likely due to poor visibility caused by dense fog and darkness.
The deceased have been identified as Odud Bepari, 36, son of Mohammad Ali Bepari from Jamalpur village of Guagachhia union in Gazaria upazila; Babul Sarkar, 48, son of Bacchu Sarkar from Ramzan Beg village in Charjhapta, Munshiganj Sadar upazila; Sakib, 26, from Matlab North upazila, Chandpur; and Naeem, 25, son of Mohan Bhandar from Nayakandi Baroichar village of the same area.
Md Alamin, Assistant Sub-inspector of Gazaria Naval Police Outpost, confirmed the matter to the media saying that a speedboat carrying around 10-12 people collided with an anchored bulkhead in the Meghna river around 9:30pm, leaving two people dead and eight others injured.
After the incident, locals and fishermen rushed to the scene after hearing the sound of the collision. The river police arrived shortly after, rescuing three victims and sending them to Gajaria Upazila Health Complex for treatment.
In this regard, Md Obaidul Karim Khan, commander of the Narayanganj unit of Prottoy and deputy director of BIWTA said, “Initially, we heard about a collision with a bulkhead, but upon arrival, we confirmed it was a collision between a speedboat and a motorized trawler.
The trawler sank, and the speedboat was damaged. We believe the deceased were passengers on the trawler. One individual was reported missing, and we recovered his body on Saturday afternoon near the accident site.”
According to local sources, the deceased and injured were reportedly active members of the notorious river pirate gang “Nayan Bahini.”
