A tragedy of our own making!

We are saddened and outraged at the deadliest incident of launch fire in our history that has taken at least 40 lives until now, with over a hundred passengers injured and many more still missing. According to our reports, a few hours after the launch, MV Abhijan-10, left for Barguna with over a thousand passengers on board from Dhaka—at 6pm on Thursday—the staffers of the launch noticed some problems. However, they kept the vessel going while trying to fix them. Many of the passengers noticed that the engine of the launch was acting strange—it was making loud noises from time to time, black smoke was emanating from the engine room and sometimes, flashes of fire were exiting the exhaust pipe. With all the signs of an imminent disaster, the launch, however, kept going. Even when the people on the bottom floor of the vessel felt the deck getting hotter—after it left the Barishal Launch Terminal around 1:30am—the master still kept the launch moving towards its destination. Then, at 2am, there was an explosion which caused the huge fire that engulfed the entire launch.

The questions that we have regarding this deadly fire incident are many: Why didn't the launch master and staffers do the routine check-up of the engine and other machinery before starting the journey? Why did the launch master not cancel the trip when they found out that the engine was giving trouble? Why were barrels of fuel kept in the engine room and on a major portion of the lower deck? Why was there a kitchen right next to the engine room? Why didn't the master stop the vessel at the Barishal launch terminal when the heat at the lower deck was so obvious and could be felt by all? Lastly, why were there more than a thousand passengers on board, when the launch had the capacity of carrying only 420? This fatal fire could have been easily avoided if some basic rules had been followed by the launch master and staffers, and if only they cared a little about the passengers' safety.

It is heartbreaking to see the cries and screams of the relatives of those who died on the spot, being burnt alive or having suffocated to death. Many are still waiting for their loved ones who went missing after they jumped into the river to save themselves from the fatal blaze. The hospitals in Barishal, Jhalakathi and Dhaka that are providing treatment to the burn victims are struggling with so many critically wounded patients. We hope all of them will get the best treatment in the country and that no more lives will be lost.

Apparently, some committees have been formed to investigate the incident and find out the real cause of the fire. Although the fire officials have primarily identified the engine room to be the source of the blaze, we will know for sure when the committees give their reports. And regarding the negligence of the launch master and the staffers, we think all of them should be brought under the law for not playing their due roles. Such blatant disregard for passengers' safety should never be tolerated.