UNB :
What should have been a time of warmth, laughter and familial bliss has instead left behind the silence of mourning, as the Eid holidays witnessed the tragic loss of at least 14 lives, including children, in a heartbreaking series of drownings across the country.
From tranquil village ponds to the lively tourist shores of Cox’s Bazar and the scenic waters of Sylhet, the ripples of joy turned into waves of grief, underscoring a harrowing national truth-drowning remains a silent predator, claiming lives that might have been saved.
Tears in Noakhali and Moulvibazar: Families Shattered
In the quiet corner of Subarnachar upazila in Noakhali, an ordinary afternoon turned devastating when two cousins-Faria Akter, just three years old, and her five-year-old playmate Mohammad Tahasin-slipped away into eternity.
Visiting their grandfather’s home in the Char Jubilee area, the children, gleeful in the spirit of Eid, wandered near a pond.
Their laughter was the last sound heard before the water claimed them.
Miles away, in the peaceful village of Hamidpur in Moulvibazar’s Juri upazila, a father’s love met a tragic end.
Babul Ahmed Babu, 60, a brick kiln owner, had taken it upon himself to teach his daughter Halima Mohammad, 18, how to swim.
What began as a tender lesson ended in heartbreak. Halima lost her footing and disappeared beneath the water’s surface, and in a desperate attempt to save her, her father followed.
Both lives were extinguished within moments, their final embrace submerged in sorrow.
A Grim Toll at the Sea’s Edge: Cox’s Bazar Mourns
The salty breeze of Cox’s Bazar could not sweep away the anguish that settled over the beach town, where a series of drownings unfolded within a mere 16 hours.
Among the victims were Shahinur Rahman, 60, and his 20-year-old son Sifat from Rajshahi.
