One more body found in Turag
The rescuers yesterday recovered a passenger’s body from near the bus that plunged into the Turag river at Amin Bazar on Sunday.
They, however, could not yet get inside the sunken vehicle where many more bodies are still feared trapped.
The body retrieved was identified to be of Mokbul Hossain Gazi, 50, of Rajoir upazila in Madaripur.
The Savar-bound bus fell into the river with some 50 people near Salehpur Bazar bridge on the outskirts of the capital.
Of the seven passengers rescued alive some time after the accident, Jahangirnagar University student Monwara Khatun Tara died at a local clinic.
The divers fished out Mokbul’s body at around 12:30pm, shortly after locating the bus, which by that time had drifted 120 feet off the point it hit the water.
Aided by locals, around 100 personnel from Fire Service and Civil Defence, army, navy, coastguard, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority and police were participating in the rescue operation.
Brig Gen Abu Naim Mohammad Shahidullah, director general of the fire service, told The Daily Star the divers could not yet get inside the bus because of strong current in the river.
“Besides, the bus is stuck in a hole under water, making it harder for us to salvage it,” he added.
The DG could not say how many bodies might still be trapped inside the bus.
As of filing the report at around 7:00pm, the rescuers were trying to salvage the bus with the help of a cargo vessel.
Earlier in the morning, relatives of the missing passengers demonstrated on the Dhaka-Aricha highway against what they said were slow rescue efforts.
Some of the relatives were scouring the river for their dear ones by small boats.
