A pleasure trip turned into a tragedy as 17 people drowned after a trawler capsized in the Gobindasri Rajali Kanda haor under Madan upazila of Netrakona.
The trawler, carrying a group of 48 people including madrasa teachers and students, sank in the waterbody around 12pm on Wednesday amid inclement weather, said Ramijul Haque, officer-in-charge (OC) of Madan police station.
The OC said the students and teachers of a madrasa at Konapara, Mymensingh arrived at Uchitpur, Netrakona to visit a tourist spot and they hired a boat to see the scenic beauty of the haor.
But the boat sank in the hoar as it was hit by strong current amid the bad weather, turning their fun journey into a big tragedy.
“So far, 17 people have been recovered dead, 30 people have been rescued alive, and one passenger is still missing,” he added.
The deceased were identified as Mahfuzur Rahman, 45, Shafiqur Rahman, 40, Isa Miya, 40, Ajaharul Islam, 38, Mahmud Miya, 12, Md Asif, 15, Md Samayan, 20, Rezaul Karim, 16, Mujahid Miya, 17, Md Hamidul, 35, Saiful Islam Ratan, 30, Md Jubayer, 22, Jahirul Islam, 35, Md Jahid, 20, Md Rakib, 20, Lubana Akter, 10, Julfa Aktar, 7. While the missing person has been identified as Md Shaadh, 26.
A rescue operation is still ongoing for the missing tourist, said the OC.
