United News of Bangladesh . Chandpur
Rescuers recovered Tuesday bodies of 22 of the victims of Monday’s trawler capsize in the River Meghna, all but one from the same locality.
Divers of BIWTA, Coast Guard and Fire Service pulled up the bodies from inside a cabin of the sunken trawler in a macabre scene.
The deceased were Makbul, 45, and his son Ashraf, 22, Zohurul, 30, Masud, 42, Nabin, 30, Akkas, 50, Nayeb, 50, Rabiul, 45, Aminul, 30, Farid, 25, Joynal, 35, Altaf, 30, Monir, 25, Arif, 22, Liton, 25, and four siblings Nuru Miah, 30, Alauddin, 37, Alahaj, 30, and Shah Alam, 30, Atahar, 30, Ripon, 25, and Mizanur, 22.
All of them, excepting Rabiul, hailed from Chhaikhola village in Chatmohor upazila of Pabna. Rabiul was from Natore.
The divers were continuing their search operation with a one-hour break from 2:00pm as two more persons of Chhaikhola village — Kader and Rabi — were still missing till the filing of the latest report in the evening.
The divers located the trawler 50 feet under water in the mighty Meghna, 800 kms from Mohonpur Launch ghat, at about 12:00pm Tuesday.
BITWA officials said they would start operation for salvaging the trawler after calling off the search for the two more feared dead.
‘A rescue ship will reach here soon to salvage the sunken trawler,’ said one of them.
The UP chairman, Borhanuddin, already reached here from Pabna to receive the bodies. He will return to the haunted village Chhaikhola with the dead at night.
‘All the passengers of the trawler might have tried to get out but couldn’t as the door of the trawler was too narrow,’ said a spokesman for the divers.
Twenty-four people, mostly labourers, were feared drowned as the earth-laden trawler capsized with 50 passengers on board in the confluence of Meghna and Padma rivers near Dashani in Matlab upazila early Monday.
Another 26 managed to swam ashore while the rest went missing after the fatal ferry accident.
Courtesy: newagebd.com
