Ferry capsize in Padma: All but one of 21 aboard rescued

All but one of the 21 aboard the Rajanigandha, a ferry that sank in Padma river this morning, have been rescued, said an official of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority.

Humayun Kabir, the second master of the ferry, is still missing since the ferry capsized less than a half kilometre from terminal 5 of Paturia terminal around 8:15am, said Mostofa Kamal, senior secretary of the shipping ministry.

Meanwhile, BIWTA salvage ship Hamza has started its operation to lift vehicles from the river bed. However, the salvage operation of the ferry has not begun yet, reports our local correspondent.

Anwarul Haque, assistant director of the Dhaka office of the Fire Service and Civil Defense, said they were waiting for another rescue ship Prottoy to arrive from Narayanganj to begin the work of lifting the 280-tonne ferry.

'We have already rescued a covered van around 5:00pm. Another vehicle will be rescued within a short time. The 'Hamza' doesn't have the capacity to lift the sunken ferry Rajanigandha. We are waiting for Prottoy,' he said.

The sunken ferry had nine goods-laden vehicles including a covered van, trucks, and pick-up vans on board, said another BIWTA official.

Shah Md Khaled Newaz, deputy general manager of BIWTC's Aricha regional office, said ferry service on the Paturia-Daulatdia route had to be suspended for over seven hours since 1:30am due to thick fog.

In total, seven ferries, including Rajanigandha, were stuck on the river.

However, how the ferry, which runs on the Daulatdia-Paturia route, capsized isn't clear yet.

Initially, BIWTC officials and some witnesses said the ferry capsized after being hit by a bulk carrier. However, at least 5 survivors refuted that claim and told this newspaper that the ferry, which remained stranded on the river since 1:30am due to heavy fog, sank due to leakage around 8:15am.

Ashique Sheikh, a driver of a cotton-laden truck who was travelling to Gazipur from Kushtia, said, "The ferry was anchored in the river due to fog and we were waiting for it to clear. An employee of the ferry shouted at us to jump into the river saying water was entering the vessel.

"They did not even provide any life jackets or other equipment to save our lives. I jumped into the water to save my life," he told The Daily Star, adding that he was rescued by locals later.

Sajjad Ali, another trucker, recounted the harrowing experience in similar terms.

"The ferry was stranded around 1:30am and some people said it was stuck in a hidden shoal but later we came to know that the service stopped due to heavy fog.

"We remained on the ferry until one of its crew members informed us that the vessel was capsizing. The ferry slowly submerged as water filled it," he said adding there was no collision.

Two committees have been formed by the district administration and BIWTC to investigate the incident.

Manikganj's Deputy Commissioner Rahana Akter said that a five-member committee headed by Additional District Magistrate Sanjida Jasmine has been formed to investigate it.

Instructions have been given to submit the investigation report at the earliest, he added.

BIWTC Chairman Matiur Rahman said that a five-member committee has been formed to investigate the cause of the incident.