Faulty Bridge May Cause More Accidents on Shitalakkhya

State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury has said that a faulty bridge on the Shitalakkhya River may cause more accidents on the busy waterway in the future.

Chowdhury said passenger launch 'Sabit Al Hasan' sank after being hit by a cargo vessel.

''We'll release our statement based on the investigation report,'' he said in his chief guest's speech at the 'River Safety Week-2021''' on Wednesday.

Bangladesh Inland Navigation (Passenger Transport) Organization President Mahbub Uddin Ahmed said the river is narrow where the accident had occurred. The pillars of the bridge are hindering the plying of vessels.

''This accident could have been averted if the Master (skipper) had slowed down the vessel considering the narrow channel,'' he said.

State Minister Khalid said he fears there could be more accidents on the Shitalakkhya River because of the narrow channel and the bridge.

The death toll from Sunday's launch capsize in Shitalakkhya reached 35 as of Tuesday. Two separate probe bodies were formed by Narayanganj and BIWTA under the Shipping Ministry to look into the incident.