3 missing in Padma trawler capsize

Three people, including two children, have been missing after a trawler sank in the Padma River in Shariatpur's Naria upazila. Witnesses said the trawler, which was anchored at the erosion prone riverbank of Ishwarkathi area, sank after a whirlpool created by sudden erosion of a portion of the riverbank around 7:30am. The missing are Aysha, 3, daughter of Delowar Hawladar, Roman, 14, son of Ibrahim Khalasi, and Shiria Begum, 60, wife of Zaed Ali Akon. The trawler was carrying 16 people, all hailing from Dubuldia village under Jajira upazila. They were heading towards their village from Kedarpur after attending a function at Pir Mazid Shah's shrine on Wednesday night. Abdus Sobhan, one of the survivors, said the trawler had to be anchored at the erosion prone area as the diesel ran out, and no sooner had the driver landed on the riverbank, a chunk of the bank fell over it. The vessel was upturned and carried away by the whirlpool in no time while its thirteen of the passengers were able to swim ashore, he added. Sureshwar river police outpost in-charge Md Masum Miah said they along with the members of the Fire Service and Civil Devence (FSCD) had tried every possible ways to search out the missing people around the capsize area. Shreepur, Mawa and Shibchar river police had also been informed about the incident, he added.