Panic gripped the passengers of the Barisal-bound “MV Prince Awlad-10” as thick smoke filled the engine room of the launch, prompting the authorities to anchor it at the Munshiganj terminal at midnight on Saturday.
Sazzad Hossain, an employee of the launch, said the authorities noticed smoke billowing from the engine room of the launch at around 11:30pm while installing an adjuster in the silencer pipe.
The authorities anchored the launch at the Munshiganj terminal for inspection.
Upon receiving the information, a firefighting unit rushed to the spot to examine the source of the smoke.
Muktarpur River Police In-Charge Lutfur Rahman told UNB’s Munshiganj correspondent that the launch started for Barisal at around 1am as a firefighting unit found it safe after inspection.
It may be recalled that a fire broke out on a Barguna-bound launch carrying some 800 passengers from Dhaka and it engulfed the entire vessel within 10 minutes, claiming the lives of 49 people, on December 24, 2021.
