As soon Sajeda Begum, a 65-year-old woman, heard about the launch capsize in Padma River about 12 noon yesterday she rushed to the riverside at Paturia Ghat in Manikganj to look for her missing family members.
Since then she had been waiting at the Paturia Ghat. Sajeda, who lives in Shibaloy, does not want to leave the place until she finds her family members who are her only support at her old age.
Sajeda was howling and beating her chest uncontrollably. Her son Monir was missing along with his wife Sanjida and two children – Ismail and Minara.
She was held firmly by her two neighbours as she became hysterical and was screaming her heart out.
“Without them I have nobody in the world. Why did they leave me alone? Why did not I die before them? How can I live now? Where will I go now?”her questions made the atmosphere on the riverbank heavy.
Like Sajeda hundreds of family members of the victims were found screaming near the spot where the launch sank as of filing of this report about 9pm.
Fire Service and Civil Defense Assistant Director Abdul Halim said they did not know the actual number of passengers died in the launch capsize.
“We heard that about 30-35 of the passengers were able to get to the shore with the help of engine boats,” he said.
“Our search will continue until we find all the missing people.” He also informed that at total of 43 bodies had been recovered.
The Shibaloy Circle Superintendent of Police Harun-ur Rashid said: “There were probably 80-90 passengers when it was traveling to Doulatdia from Paturia ghat.”
The Shibaloy thana officer-in-charge said 15 of the victims had so far been identified.
When asked about the missing people, he replied: “The search is going on but I think not so many people were on board the vessel.”
However, locals and witnesses said there were nearly 200 passengers in the launch named Mostofa-3 that capsized after a collision with a cargo, Nargis-1 soon after the ill-fated launch left Paturia dock yesterday noon.
The cargo was heading towards Daulatdia while MV Nargis-1 was on its way to Dhaka from Nagarbari.
The atmosphere became heavy with each body being pulled out of the capsized launch and brought to the BIWTA passengers counter at Paturia Ghat.
Haidar Hossain, one of the victims who lost his wife and a two-year-old daughter, said: “I do not know where they are. My heart breaks as I try to feel their pain and sufferings before they died under water.”
It was all over within a moment, he lamented.
“Now I am only a living corps –------ without my wife and my daughter,” Haider gave a deep sigh as he moved away from the reporter.
