It was the last day of their school life.
Bappi and Sajal with seven other friends planned to do something memorable to mark the day. Accordingly, they went on a boat ride yesterday in a pond at Demra in the capital.
The students went on the ride in a fish farm at Dharmik Para around 12:30pm. But the boat capsized around 20 feet off the bank, Suhrawardy Mia, assistant sub-inspector of Demra Police Station, quoted locals as saying.
The locals rescued seven of them while the duo — Mainul Islam Bappi, 16, and Sajal, 16, — died. For the surviving seven, the day became memorable in a different way.
Most of them did not know how to swim, said Abed Hossain, Bappi’s father, breaking down in tears.
They were all class-X students of Salahuddin Ahmed Adarsha High School in Jatrabari area and were preparing for the next year’s SSC examination.
“Bappi left home for school around 8:00am,” said Bappi’s father. “Bappi was my only son. He always led a disciplined life.”
“The boys drove the boat themselves as there was no boatman there at that time. The small boat was used to feed the fish,” said the ASI.
The bodies were handed over to their relatives, the ASI added.
-With The Daily Star input
