Rescuers have recovered the body of a missing tourist from the Nafakhum area in Thanchi, Bandarban, 48 hours after he was swept away.
Iqbal Hossain, 25, is from Dhaka’s Demra area. His body was found at around 4pm on Sunday, 16 November, by Fire Service personnel at the same spot where he went missing.
Rashedul Islam Mridha, station officer at Thanchi Fire Service, confirmed the recovery and said the body was being transported to Thanchi town, where it was expected to arrive by 9pm.
Iqbal slipped and fell into deep water while bathing at Nafakhum on Friday afternoon, 14 November. Local residents attempted to find him until Saturday evening but were unsuccessful. A Fire Service team began a full-scale search on Sunday morning and recovered the body after seven hours of continuous operation.
Thanchi Police Station Officer-in-Charge Nasir Uddin Majumder said Iqbal had been travelling with a group of 12–14 tourists and had entered the restricted area.
“Visiting Nafakhum is currently prohibited for tourists. Despite this, the group went there secretly under the arrangement of an event management group,” Nasir Uddin added.
He also noted that the group had neither registered at the authorised tourist information centre nor taken a local guide, in violation of mandatory safety regulations.
