Small cargo vessel sinking after hitting sunken vessel near Bhasan Char
A small-sized cargo vessel, carrying construction material for Padma bridge, is sinking in the Bay of Bengal after hitting a sunken lighter vessel near Bhasan Char this morning.
All the 14 crew members were rescued by the staff of a fishing boat passing by, reports our Chattogram staff correspondent.
Mohammad Selim, deputy director (DD) of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), said the vessel named "Hang Gang-1" carrying construction material for Padma Bridge was heading for Dhaka.
While crossing the sea, the cargo vessel hit the sunken vessel MV Fultola after its master lost control over the helm around 10 nautical miles south from Bhasan Char around 9:40am, Selim said, adding that cracks developed on its bottom following the collision.
Abdul Malek, master of oil tanker OT Ocean Taj which was crossing the area on its way to Chattogram, said hearing about the accident through VHF radio, they rushed to the spot to find that all the crewmembers of the sinking vessel were rescued by the fishermen of a big fishing boat.
A part of the vessel sank till filing of this report at 1:00pm, Malek told The Daily Star on the phone from the spot.
Mentionable, a sand-laden bulkhead sank at the same area on July 3 and lighter vessel MV Fultola-1 capsized on July 10 after being hit by the sank bulkhead due to lack of marking buoy in the area.
BIWTA Deputy Director Selim said they marked the area with a red floating buoy immediately after MV Fultola-1 capsized on July 10 so that vessels avoid the spot while crossing the sea.
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