Ferry capsize in Padma: Salvage operation of ferry yet to begin

Thirty-six hours after the incident, the salvage operation of the ferry that capsized in the Padma in Manikganj has not started.

The one person -- a crew member of the ferry -- who went missing after the incident could not be traced till the filing of the report at 8:00pm.

"Right now, we have two salvage vessels -- Hamza and Rustom -- on the spot. But the two vessels don't have the capacity to lift the ferry," Md Khaled Newaz, deputy general manager (commerce) of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC).

The weight of Rajanigandha is around 280-tonne, said Anwarul Haque, an assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defence.

"But both Hamza and Rustom jointly have the capacity to lift 120 tonnes. So, we will start the salvage operation of the ferry after another salvage vessel comes to the spot," said Khaled.

Another salvage vessel Prottoy, which started for the location on Wednesday from Narayanganj, is yet to reach the incident spot and we don't know when it will come here, Khaled told The Daily Star at around 8:00pm.

Nurul Islam, a member of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) diving team, said, 'We cannot enter the ferry as it has overturned. That is why, we are not sure whether the missing person is trapped inside or washed away."

The ferry sank near Paturia Ghat in Manikganj with nine trucks and more than 20 people on board on Wednesday morning at around 8:00am.

All the people, except the 39-year-old Humayun Kabir, the second master of Rajanigandha, were rescued by boatmen in the area.

After the accident, rescue ship Hamza started to salvage vehicles from the sunken ferry. Hamza could salvage a lorry at 5:00pm and a truck at 8:00pm on Wednesday.

The operation resumed at 11:45am today after another rescue ship Rustom joined Hamza.

Another vehicle has been lifted from the water today.

Meanwhile, owners, drivers and helpers of vehicles of the sunken ferry expressed their dissatisfaction over the delay in the rescue operation.

"Two of my trucks filled with cotton sank with the ferry. One of the trucks has been rescued but another is still under water. I will have to incur a huge amount of losses due to the accident. The authorities concerned should salvage the vehicles quickly," said a cotton trader and truck owner Mizanur Rahman.

Manikganj district administration and BIWTC formed two separate probe committees to investigate the incident.