1 Killed In Launch Collision On Meghna

A passenger has died after a collision between two launches on the Meghna River in Chandpur.

Another passenger was injured when the Tipu-14 vessel from Dhaka hit the Surovi-8 from Bhola around 12:45 am on Tuesday (December 12), according to the police.

The vessels left the scene before the police arrived, said Inspector Md Jahangir Hossain Khan of the Chandpur Nilkamal Police Outpost.

Md Sohel, a native of Bhola, was onboard the Surovi-8 and died in the incident, according to Abul Kalam, chief of Sadarghat River Police Station.

Kalam added that the collision caused heavy damage to the cabin section of the Surovi-8.

The vessel reached the Sadarghat at 8 am on Tuesday, with 10 broken iron railings on its second floor, said Transport Inspector ABS Mahmud of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority.

Both Sohel and the injured passenger were standing near the railings on the second floor.

Dense fog was reported as a contributing factor in the incident, and authorities will investigate any negligence by the launch captains, said Inspector Mahmud.