Visiting holidaymakers advised to be careful
People planning to spend their holidays in Cox's Bazar beach have been advised to be careful while in water, as a 1.5km long trench has recently appeared in the Bay of Bengal stretching from Kolatoli Model Hatchery to Laboni point.
Mohammad Mostak, a Robi lifeguard who discovered the trench on July 8, said the trench was very dangerous as it becomes covered by water during flood tide.
“People don't really understand how dangerous the trench can be. They fail to realise that the water they are bathing in is much deeper,” he said, referring to the about 10 feet deep trench.
The trench can be seen during ebb tide when water recedes.
Mostak said flood and ebb tides had six-hour cycles.
With Eid-ul-Fitr on the horizon, people will be visiting the beach in droves for the holidays, and lifeguards there have asked holidaymakers to be cautious.
Syed Nur, a lifeguard for eight years, said their job became difficult during the holidays as in those times the beach saw way more tourists.
“The trench now will make our job even more difficult.”
He further said rip currents, which especially occur during the months of June, July and August, would add to the risk of bathing or playing in the sea.
Mostak said, “Many tourists do not listen to our warnings, so we have to keep a sharp eye when they swim.”
He said this was one of the main reasons why drowning incidents occurred. The lifeguards are on duty every day from 8:00am to 5:00pm, he added. The Sea Beach Management Committee has hoisted red flags along the length of the trench as a warning to swimmers.
Nurul Islam, member secretary of the committee, said they also put around 25 to 30 buoys there and had lifebuoys on standby if people still wanted to swim there. He said they would discourage people from swimming during this time, but he doubted tourists would listen.
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