‘Missile’-shaped flash of light seen in Cox’s Bazar sky

A missile-shaped flash of light sped southward (towards Teknaf) on Friday evening over the Bay of Bengal on the western side of Cox’s Bazar sea beach. It disappeared within a few minutes.

Tourists standing on the beach recorded the scene on their mobile phones and shared it on social media, where it quickly went viral.

Videos show that around 6:30 pm, a lightning-like beam of light was visible in one corner of the sky. Some distance from it, the missile-shaped flash of light was seen spreading light as it moved rapidly eastward (towards Teknaf). It disappeared within a few minutes.

In addition to tourists standing on the beach, city residents also witnessed the scene from the rooftops of their homes. Many expressed concern about it on social media.

Regarding the matter, assistant meteorologist at the Cox’s Bazar office of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, M Abdul Hannan, said comments had been sought from meteorologists in Dhaka by sending them the video and photos of the light seen from Laboni Point in Cox’s Bazar. They said it was not a meteorological phenomenon.

When asked about the matter, Cox’s Bazar Additional Superintendent of Police (crime and operations) Md Wahidur Rahman said he did not know the details of the missile-shaped flash of light seen moving over the Bay of Bengal.

He said it appeared to be a missile based on what he had seen on social media, but he did not know why it was launched or who had launched it.