Hundreds of people gathered by the side of the Jamuna River in Sirajganj yesterday to hear the news about their relatives, who had gone missing since a boat carrying over 100 passengers capsized there on Thursday.
They upset as the rescue drive to trace out the missing passengers, who are assumed to be dead, of the crash at the Mituani point of the Jamuna River in Sirajganj’s Chouhali upazila, as no bodies had been recovered until afternoon.
According to locals and witnesses, on Thursday, the bodies of only nine passengers had been recovered. However, local administration said not more than four bodies had been recovered.
This is not the only confusion between locals and the administration, since locals said at least 30 passengers had gone missing, but the administration said it was not more than 10.
Bagutia Union Parishad Chairman Abdul Kahar Siddik said they had known about the recovery of nine bodies. The identities of five of those bodies could be known immediately.
Khashpukuria Union Parishad Chairman Mizanur Rahman said there were 70 to 80 passengers aboard the boat and it was being assumed that 30 to 40 passengers had gone missing when the boat capsized.
Chouhali police station Officer-in-Charge Shamsul Haq said divers, who came here via a BIWTA ship from Manikganj, and local firemen had participated in the rescue operation but they failed to recover any bodies.
Sirajganj Fire Service and Civil Defense’s Deputy Director Abdul Hamid said their operation was being hampered by strong river currents.
BIWTA Joint Director AKM Shahjahan said they had tried to pull up the sunken boat repeatedly, but had failed to do so as the rope tied to the boat kept ripping. More equipment was needed to drag the boat up.
Chouhali Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mohammad Abdullah said: “We are trying our best to find the missing passengers. We are still hopeful of tracing them.”