50 feared drowned in Padma launch Disaster

Staff Correspondent, Faridpur:

About 50 people were feared drowned when an overcrowded launch capsized in the Padma river in Faridpur on Friday night.

Rescue operations could not be launched because of fierce currents in the river, BIWTA sources said.

The triple-decker MV pathan-1 was on its way to Daulatdia from Dhaka when it went down in a whirlpool in the Padma at about 10:45pm, survivors said.

About 150 people swam ashore or were rescued and three bodies were recovered from the scene.

The operation to salvage the sunken launch and passengers believed in the hull could not be started until last night because of furious currents.

“A swirling pulled the launch into its eye, about 600 meters from the pier,” said 55-years-old survivor Abdus salam.

The moment the launch listed to one side, its rear is foundering almost vertically, awakening sleeping passengers to dive off, he added.

The missing people included the owner of the sunken launch, surviving craft crew said.

It is likely that most bodies have drifted away, rescuers said. Their bodies might float in the downstream in a couple of days, they added.

Riverine disasters are blamed on neglect of safety regulations. structural floats, lack of law enforcement and poor weather monitoring.