At least 26 people have been killed in a small voyage carrying 100 passengers after a cargo ship collided with Bangladesh’s Shitalakshya river, a media report said on Monday. The incident took place in Narayanganj district, about 1 km southeast of Dhaka, on Sunday evening.
While the five bodies were recovered on Sunday, the Navy, Coast Guard, Fire Service and police recovered a total of 21 bodies on Monday, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
The passenger vessel, ML Sabit Al Hasan, sank after colliding with the cargo ship, SKL-3, at the mouth of the Syedpur Koyla Ghat on the Shitalakkhya River in Munshiganj. Police and onlookers said the cargo vessel fled the scene after the collision, it said.
The launch was en route Munshiganj, the report said.
A seven-member committee headed by Additional District Magistrate (ADM) has been formed to investigate the incident, Narayanganj Deputy Commissioner Mostain Billah said.
The district administration will give a compensation of Tk25,000 (USD 296) to each of the deceased’s family for the burial process, he added.
The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority has also formed a four-member to probe the mishap, the report said.
The launch had an estimated 150 passengers. Port Police Officer-in-Charge (OC) Deepak Chandra Saha confirmed that 50-60 of them were able to swim in the two banks, but three of them had to be rushed to the hospital.
