Buriganga launch capsize death toll rises to 33

The death toll from the launch capsize in the Buriganga river climbed to 33 with the recovery of another body from the river near Shyambazar on Tuesday.

A diver team of fire service retrieved the body around 12:48am, said duty officer Ershad Hossain of the fire service headquarters control room.

Earlier, Thirty-two bodies were recovered following the launch capsize incident in the river on Monday.

The rescue operation resumed in the morning.

Divers of the Bangladesh Navy started the rescue operation again at 10:00am with 10 air bags in the river, said AKM Arif Uddin, joint director of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).

Meanwhile, movement of heavy vehicles on Postagala China-Bangladesh Friendship Bridge remained restricted since Monday evening as it was damaged after being hit by a salvage vessel in the morning, he added.

He also informed that a guarder of the bridge was displaced that caused the problem.

On Monday night, divers night rescued Sumon Bepari, 55, who survived in the water for nearly 13 hours after the launch-capsize incident.

“Sumon, of Abdullapur area under Tongibari thana in Munshiganj, was rescued at around 10:30pm from the Buriganga river,” said Syed Kamrul Hasan, duty officer of the control room at Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters.

He was immediately taken to Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital, he added.

Sadarghat River Police filed a case against seven people, owner, master and the Sareng of Moyur-2 launch with Dhaka Dakkhin Keraniganj police station.

Moyur-2 launch was seized and no passengers remained missing in the incident, said AKM Arif Uddin.

The Dhaka-bound MV Morning Bird launch from Munshiganj sank at 9:33am in the river after being hit by another launch Mayur-2 near Shyambazar in the capital.