Water bus hit by bulkhead capsizes in Buriganga, 30 missing

At least 25 to 30 passengers went missing after a water bus capsized in Buriganga river after being hit by a sand-laden bulkhead. The incident took place in Sadarghat area at around 8:30pm.

Some survivors said the water bus was going to Telghat in South Keraniganj from Lalkuthi Ghat. The water bus was hit by a bulkhead named MV Arabi at mid river. Divers from the fire service started the rescue operation at around 9:00 pm.

Imran Hossain, a passenger of the capsized water bus, told Prothom Alo, “I boarded the water bus from Lalkuthi ghat to go to Keraniganj. As I didn’t get any place at the deck, I sat on the rooftop. As far I can assume, there were 55 to 60 passengers on the water bus. Some of the passengers including me started to swim as the water bus got hit by the bulkhead. We were rescued by the boatmen who were nearby. Most of the passengers on the deck have drowned.”

Rezaul Islam, sub-inspector (SI) of Sadarghat river police station, told Prothom Alo, “We could not know how many passengers of the water bus remain missing. The divers of the fire service started a rescue operation at 9:00 in the night. The bulkhead has been seized.”