2 students drowned in Meghna River

Two school students drowned in the Meghna River in Sonargaon, Narayanganj, after skipping school and going on an outing with friends. Their bodies were recovered by a Fire Service diving team on Wednesday (June 17), nearly four hours after they went missing.

The deceased were identified as Meraj (15), a Class 10 student of Bornomala School and the son of Raju Mia from Shonir Akhra in Dhaka’s Kadamtali area, and Kayes Bhuiyan (13), a Class 8 student of A.K. School and College and the son of Faruk Bhuiyan from the Dhania area.

According to their classmates, seven students three from A.K. School and College and four from Bornomala School skipped classes and went to the Meghna River in Sonargaon on Wednesday. At around 2:00 pm, they entered the river for a swim.

At one stage, two of the boys began struggling in the water. Meraj and Kayes rushed to help them, but neither of them knew how to swim. They were swept away by the strong current and disappeared beneath the water.

Upon receiving the information, a Fire Service diving team rushed to the scene and launched a rescue operation. After an intensive four-hour search, the bodies of Meraj and Kayes were recovered from the river.

Family members said they had no idea the boys had skipped school and gone to the Meghna River. They believe the tragedy occurred because the two students were unable to swim.

Md. Osman Gani, Deputy Director of Narayanganj Fire Service Zone-2, said the diving team began operations immediately after receiving the report and recovered the bodies after several hours of effort before handing them over to the families.

Sonargaon Police Station Officer-in-Charge Golam Sarwar and Mahabubur Rahman, in-charge of the Baidyerbazar River Police Outpost, described the incident as deeply tragic. They said the bodies were handed over to the families after completing the necessary legal procedures.

The untimely deaths of the two teenagers have cast a shadow of grief over the local community and their respective educational institutions.