Rescuers have pulled 37 bodies, mostly of women and children, after a passenger ferry sank on the river Padma.
Manikganj district’s Shibalay Police OC Rakibuzzaman said the ferry, ML Mostofa-3, was hit by cargo vessel MV Nargis-1 soon after it left Paturia dock around Sunday noon.The ferry was on its way to Daulatdia while MV Nargis-1 was on its way to Dhaka from Nagarbarhi.
Fire Service station officer KM Tarik said the rescuers fished out 37 bodies including those of six children and eight women until 7pm.However, he could not confirm their identities.
Manikganj Deputy Commissioner Rashid Ferdous said, “The rescue operation is still ongoing. We have identified the location of the ferry and are trying to pull it up.”
Even though police could not confirm how many were on board the ferry, Paturia Dock Supervisor Jewel Rana said that more than a hundred passengers of two buses, ‘Comfort Line’ and ‘Rajdhani Express’, were being ferried across the river.
Supervisor of Gopalganj route of Comfort Line Shakhawat Hossain said he started off from Dhaka around 9am with 43 passengers on board.
Following the accident and after recovery of passengers from the ferry, he boarded another bus with 33 of the passengers and reached Gopalganj around 5pm.
Swapna Begum, 25, who was on board the ferry recounted the horror. “Everyone was terrified. We could not believe that we would make it out alive.”
Comfort Line’s Manager Hamidur Rahman Tito said, “We are in constant contact with hospitals in Shibalay and Manikganj, and riverbanks for information on those missing.”
However, no information about how many passengers were on board Rajdhani Express or how many are still missing could not be immediately confirmed.
Locals started rescue work immediately after the accident with boats and trawlers. Quite a number of ferry passengers swam to the shore and the rescue vessels.
A Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) tugboat had located the capsized vessel and was trying to pull it up.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority Chairman Md Samsuddoha Khondaker said, “Rescue vessel Rustam is en route to the site from Munshiganj’s Shimulia.”
BIWTA Director Mohammad Hossain said, “We have detected ML Mostofa’s location 20 feet underwater. It weighs roughly 50 tons. We are hoping to lift it to surface once Rustam arrives.”
Manikganj Superintendent of Police Bidhan Tripura said that divers of Manikganj fire service, Paturia rivers police and Daulatdia police camp were running the rescue mission.
Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan is supervising the rescue work at the scene of the accident. DC Ferdous, Manikganj SP Tripura and other senior officials were also present there.
District administration has opened two control rooms in Paturia and Daulatdia docks.
Emergency Medical Officer of Shibalay Upazila Health Centre, Bikash Chandra Mandal, said a medical team had been sent to the site to provide immediate attention to those being rescued.