3 labourers missing

Three labourers went missing after a passenger launch hit their sand-laden bulkhead in the Meghna river near Gajaria launch terminal early yesterday.

Two of the missing labourers were identified as Aslam, 24, and Emaidul, 38.

Being informed, members of Bangladesh Coast Guard and fire service personnel started a rescue operation for the missing labourers, Officer in Charge (OC) of Gajaria Police Station Harun-or-Rashid said. 

The coast guard members seized the bulkhead for plying in the night on Wednesday and anchored it near Gajaria Ghat, the OC said.

The bulkhead along with the four labourers, who were asleep, capsized immediately after Dhaka-bound launch from Barishal, Kritankhala-2, hit the vessel around 5.15am, he added.

One of the labourers, Nizam, 40, managed to swim ashore while the other three went missing, he said.

Coastguards arrested Shahidul Islam, master of the launch, and two of his assistants--Jahangir Hossain and Younus--from Dhaka’s Sadarghat yesterday morning, Station Officer of Bangladesh Coast Guard MM Asif said.