Online Desk :
Two more bodies have been recovered on the third day of a search operation along the Shitalaykkhya river after a passenger launch struck by a cargo ship sank in Narayanganj.
Rescuers pulled the bodies of a 30-year-old man and a four-year-old child from the river near Bandar Upazila’s Madanganj Shah Cement area on Tuesday, according to Abdullah Arefin, deputy assistant director of the fire service, reports bdnews24.com.
It brings the death toll in the incident to 10. The authorities have already handed over seven bodies to their loved ones.
Four people, including a three-and-a-half-year-old girl, were still missing as of Monday night, according to Moniruzzaman, chief of Narayanganj Sadar River Police. The list of missing people could come down to two once the bodies of the victims retrieved on Tuesday are identified, he said.
Divers are still looking for more bodies over a search radius spanning a few kilometres, according to Arefin.
The cargo vessel MV Rupshi-9, owned by City Group, bore down on the side of the launch, ML Ashraf Uddin-2, with great force and eventually plunged it into the water near the coal market in Sonakanda on Sunday.
The launch was heading to Munshiganj with more than 50 passengers on board at the time, according to River Police. Many of the passengers were able to swim ashore, but several others were reported missing.
The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority later salvaged the launch on Monday.
The authorities also brought charges of culpable homicide against the crew of Rupshi-9. Police have since remanded eight crew members, including the ship’s master Ramzan Ali, for questioning in the case.
