Crowd gathers upon hearing of a passenger bus falling into the Padma River on Wednesday afternoon at Rajbari's Daulatdia ferry terminal.
Crowd gathers upon hearing of a passenger bus falling into the Padma River on Wednesday afternoon at Rajbari's Daulatdia ferry terminal.
Local News

Bus carrying 40 passengers plunges into Padma River from Daulatdia ferry ghat pontoon

CorrespondentRajbari

A Dhaka-bound passenger bus waiting to cross the river at the Daulatdia terminal in Goaland Upazila of Rajbari fell into the Padma River after being hit by a ferry.

The accident occurred on Wednesday afternoon, around 5:15 PM, in front of Daulatdia ferry terminal number three. The bus had approximately 40 passengers and had departed from Rajbari.

In a message, the Fire Service stated that a bus carrying passengers fell into the Padma River while boarding the ferry. A diving team from the Fire Service is working on the scene, and more divers are on the way from the Dhaka headquarters.

Md Monir Hossain, the transportation terminal supervisor in charge at the Daulatdia ferry terminal, said that the Sohardya Transport's passenger bus arrived at terminal number three shortly after five in the afternoon. At that time, a ferry at the terminal left for Paturia in Manikganj with vehicles.

Since the bus could not board that ferry, it was waiting for the next one. Around 5:15 PM, a small utility ferry named ''Hasna Hena'' came and struck the pontoon strongly. Unable to control the impact, the bus fell into the Padma River.

Rescue efforts have started after the bus fell into the river on Wednesday afternoon, at Rajbari's Daulatdia ferry terminal.

Monir Hossain further mentioned, "The bus fell into the Padma River right in front of our eyes, yet we couldn't do anything. At that time, there were at least 40 passengers, including women and children, on the bus. Although a few passengers were able to get out, most remain trapped inside the bus. We have informed the BIWTA, BIWTC, and Fire Service to rescue the bus. The rescue operation is yet to start."

Rescue efforts have started after the bus fell into the river on Wednesday afternoon at Rajbari's Daulatdia ferry terminal.

Mohammad Salah Uddin, Assistant General Manager of BIWTC Daulatdia Office, said they are now waiting for the rescue operation at the ferry terminal upon receiving the news.

The Officer in Charge (OC) of the Daulatdia Naval Police Outpost, Trinath Saha, stated, "We are not in a position to comment at this moment. We will be able to say something once the situation stabilises."

According to terminal sources, a rescue ship, Hamza, has started the operation to recover the sunken bus. The diving team is also conducting operations.

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