21 die as boat sinks in B’baria
At least 21 people drowned and around 50 others went missing as a boat capsized in Laishka Beel in Brahmanbaria yesterday evening.
Firefighters and locals were looking for the missing people well past midnight.
Witnesses said more than 100 people were on board when the boat left Champaknagar area for Brahmanbaria town around 5:30pm.
As the boat reached Dewdona area, it collided with a small dinghy and the boatman lost its control. The boat was then hit by two sand-carrying vessels coming from the opposite direction and capsized, said survivors and witnesses.
"I was on the bank of the waterbody when I heard a loud noise and saw the cargo vessels hit a boat full of people. The boat sank within moments," said Nurul Amin, a local resident.
"Some passengers were trying to swim ashore," he told this newspaper last night.
One of the survivors, Anwar Hossain, who was travelling with his family, was seen in tears on the bank of the waterbody around 8:15pm.
"I had to see my two children drown. I could not save them," he cried.
Soon after the accident, hundreds of villagers thronged the spot and kept searching for the missing people. Many were desperately looking for their loved ones.
The deputy commissioner of the district visited the area later and announced that Tk 20,000 would be given to each family of the deceased.
Of the dead, 11 were identified by their family members last night. They are Afif Billah, 20; Monju Begum, 60; Farida Begum, 47; her daughter Munni, 10; Kamala Begum, 52; Minara Begum, 50; Anjana Biswas, 30; her daughter Prithibi Biswas, 2; Jharna Begum, 45; Mayyeeda Akhter, 6; and Sirajul Islam, 58.
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