At least four people were killed and more than fifty others injured when two launches collided on the Meghna River in Chandpur.
The accident occurred around 2am on Thursday in the Harina area of Haimchar upazila. As many of the injured are in critical condition, the death toll may rise.
Additional IGP of the River Police Kusum Dewan provided the information.
Chandpur BIWTA Deputy Director (Traffic) Babu Lal Baidya said the collision occurred due to dense fog on the river. As the destinations of the two launches could not be immediately identified, the identities of the deceased were not known. The Coast Guard has handed over four bodies to the police.
Passengers of the damaged launch and eyewitnesses said the Dhaka-bound MV Zakir Samrat-3, which had departed from Ghosherhat in Bhola, was crossing the Haimchar river area after 2am.
At the same time, the Barishal-bound MV Adventure-9 was travelling from Dhaka carrying passengers returning from a BNP conference.
Due to dense fog across the river, the Adventure-9 launch failed to determine direction and rammed into the Zakir Samrat-3 at high speed.
Passengers said that despite the fog, the Adventure-9 was moving at a reckless speed. While the Zakir Samrat launch suffered heavy damage in the collision, the Adventure launch quickly left the scene.
Following the accident, the MV Karnaphuli-9 launch, travelling from Bhola to Dhaka, came forward to rescue passengers from the heavily damaged Zakir Samrat-3. It rescued many passengers and left for Dhaka.
Meanwhile, the damaged Zakir Samrat-3 launch departed for Dhaka with the bodies of the deceased and more than fifty seriously injured passengers for urgent medical treatment.
A duty officer of the Sadarghat River Police said police seized the Adventure-9 launch from Jhalakathi ghat in connection with the incident. Four staff members of the launch were also detained for questioning.
The collision spread panic among passengers on the waterway. The authorities said an investigation is under way to determine the cause of the accident.
