A fire broke out on a tourist vessel bound for St Martin’s Island in Cox’s Bazar on Saturday morning, leaving one crew member dead.
The deceased was identified as Noor Kamal, 25, a resident of Teknaf and a staff member of the vessel. He was reportedly asleep on board at the time of the incident.
The vessel, The Atlantic Cruise, caught fire around 6:30am while anchored in the Bankkhali River near the Nuniachhara BIWTA ghat in Cox’s Bazar town, said Syed Muhammad Morshed Hossain, deputy assistant director of Cox’s Bazar Fire Service and Civil Defence.
Witnesses said smoke was first seen billowing from inside the vessel shortly after it anchored at the terminal. The fire spread rapidly, and flames soon engulfed the ship.
Hossain Islam Bahadur, general secretary of the St Martin Tourist Ship Owners’ Association (SQUAB), said there were no tourists on board at the time, which helped avert a greater loss of life.
Cox’s Bazar Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Tanjila Tasnim said the administration was monitoring tourists before boarding in line with government instructions when the incident occurred.
She added that the vessel was completely gutted by the fire.
Fire service personnel rushed to the scene and brought the blaze under control. However, the cause of the fire could not be determined immediately.
The administration said an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the incident.
