Mirsharai dredger sinking: Three more bodies recovered
Bodies of three more workers were recovered on Wednesday morning in connection with the incident of sinking of a sand mining dredger in the Sandwip channel of the Bay of Bengal in Mirsharai of Chattogram.
The dredger sank in the Bay due to rough weather at the impact of cyclone Sitrang.
Teams of Coast Guard and fire service’s divers recovered the bodies from the dredger at around 9:45 am, said Mirsharai upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) Md. Minhazur Rahman to Prothom Alo.
The three workers are -- Imam Molla, Mahmud Molla and Zahidul Islam. A total of four bodies have been recovered as of Wednesday morning in the incident.
Earlier, on Tuesday night, the body Al Amin, a worker at the dredger, was recovered from the spot of the accident.
UNO Minhazur Rahman said the rescue operation was postponed at around 12:00 am Wednesday but it resumed from 7:00 am. Teams of Coast Guard, fire service, and Mirsharai police station have been jointly conducting the operation.
He further said the teams have been facing hindrance due to the rough sea.
The dredger sank in the west of the Jetty no. 3 in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) on Monday night, when the cyclone Sitrang lashed the coastal areas of Bangladesh.
Local upazila administration confirmed the death of eight workers in the incident. All of the workers are from Jainkathi area in Patuakhali Sadar upazila. Of them, four bodies were recovered as of filing of this report on Wednesday morning.
Another worker, Md. Salam, could swim ashore from the sinking dredger. He said the Saikat-2 dredged sank at Sndwip Channel due to gusty wind and big waves at the impact of cyclone Sitrang.
The dredger is owned by a contract firm named Saikat Enterprises. The Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (Bepza) appointed the contract at the specialised industrial park.