A bus fell into the Padma River from the pontoon of Daulatdia Ferry Terminal in Goalanda upazila of Rajbari on Friday morning.
Goalanda Upazila Nirbahai Officer (UNO) Sathi Das said the Dhaka-bound “SB Paribahan” bus from Kushtia plunged into the river from the terminal-7 around 9:25am.
“All passengers had disembarked before the bus reached the pontoon. There are no casualties, and no missing complaints have been filed,” she said.
Abdus Salam, Deputy General Manager of the BIWTA, said the SB Super Deluxe bus travelling from Kushtia entered the convention pocket area to board ferry “Kabari” at Daulatdia Ferry Ghat No. 7.
While attempting to board the ferry, the bus reportedly lost control, broke through a ramp barrier on the opposite side and plunged into the Padma River.
The bus carried around 40 passengers, but there were no casualties. The driver and helper were rescued and taken to hospital. He added that local authorities had instructed all passengers to disembark before the bus boarded the ferry.
BIWTA’s rescue vessel Hamza has been dispatched to recover the bus, and divers have already begun operations.
Earlier, on 25 March, a bus of Souhardya Transport from Kushtia lost control while boarding the ferry at pontoon 3 at Daulatdia. It fell into the river, killing 26 passengers.
Following that incident, authorities strictly enforced the rule requiring all passengers to disembark before buses board ferries.
