A family that was rejoicing now numb with grief

Hari Kishore Roy's family was preparing for the Durga Puja with unbound zest and excitement.

However, the festivities descended into tragedy when a trawler, carrying six of the family members, among many others, capsized on the Karatoa in Panchagarh's Boda upazila on Sunday.

Hari Kishore, 45, his wife Konika Rani, 38, younger sister Parul Rani, 40, father-in-law Sorendranath Roy, 70, sister-in-law Monika Roy, 28, and another relative Nikhil Chandra Barman, 60, were on the boat.

After the capsize, the bodies of Kanika and Parul were recovered, but the others were still missing as of filing the report at 1:00am today.

This correspondent visited their home yesterday and found the family plumbing the depths of pain. Some of them lost their senses frequently from a trauma they could not handle.

Hari Kishore's sons – Uzzal Chandra Roy, 21, and Ajoy Chandra Roy, 15 – were seen staring blankly out of their balcony.

"My parents promised they would come back home. They weren't able to keep the promise, and now we have been orphaned," Uzzal said.

"My father called me over phone before boarding the boat. He told me there was a huge crowd. Just 15 minutes later, a relative called and gave me the  capsize news.

"Since then, we have been searching for our family members. We found the bodies of our mother and aunt today [yesterday] … We are desperately looking for my father and the other family members."

He added, "My father was a farmer and the only bread-winner in our family. We now have to face financial struggles along with the loss of our loved ones."

At least 50 have died and 30 more remain missing after the engine-run boat flipped over near Awalia Ghat in Mareya union around 2:15pm on Sunday, while it was headed for Bodeshari Hindu temple in the upazila.

Around 80-90 passengers were on their way to the temple for Mahalaya.