C T Online Desk: Rescuers found 17 more bodies in the river Karatoa on Tuesday, bringing the total number of fatalities in the Panchagarh boat capsize inident to 68 while at least four people were still unaccounted for, authorities said.
The small boat, carrying approximately 100 passengers, mostly Hindu devotees from Marea union under Boda upazila, sank in the river Karatoa on Sunday afternoon, minutes after it sailed from the Awaliar Ghat area in the district.
The boat was travelling to Bordeshwari temple in Boroshashi union in the same upazila on the occasion of Malalaya.
Panchagarh additional deputy commissioner Dipankar Roy confirmed the recovery of 17 bodies from different areas in the Karatoa river downstream until 6:00pm on Tuesday, adding that at least four people were still missing.
One of those missing persons is Sarendranth Roy, who was travelling to the temple with his two daughters, son-in-law and a relative.
Swapan Kumar Roy, son of Sarendranth, said that they had found the bodies of four others and were now waiting for the body of their father.
‘We have been waiting on the riverbank since the boat sank. We found the bodies of one of my sisters and the father-in-law of my younger brother earlier. Today we found the bodies of another sister and my brother-in-law. But my father is still missing,’ Swapan, a tailoring shop worker, told New Age.
Swapan said that the body of his brother-in-law, Hari Kishore, was stuck in mud near the accident spot. It hit the fishing net used by the villagers looking for bodies.
Local people said that rescue operations became easier after the weather improved in the region on Tuesday.
Narayan Chandra Roy, who lost his seven-year-old daughter Debasri in the accident, said due to heavy rain a day before the accident, there might have been strong current in the river.
‘If there was not this much current, some causality might have been avoided,’ said Narayan, who also lost his niece in the accident and has two other relatives undergoing treatment at a Thakurgaon hospital after being rescued alive.
Seventeen bodies recovered on Tuesday have been identified as Kobita, 9, Dhriti Rani, 10 from Boda, Shajib Roy, 10, from Boda, Akhi Rani, 15, from Boda, Bhumika Rani Puja, 15, from Thakurgaon, Putul, 15, from Boda, Palash Chandra Barman, 17, from Debiganj, Mohen Chandra, 30, from Boda, Shiltu Barman,32, from Boda, Monika Rani, 36, Sumi Rani, 38, from Boda, Shoilo Bala, 40, from Boda, Ratna Rani, 40, Hari Kishore, 45, from Boda, Monibhushan Barman, 46, Soneka, 55, from Boda, and Malindra Nath Barman, 56.
The bodies recovered on Tuesday were almost decomposed, which made identification of the bodies difficult.
Of the total victims, authorities said 30 were women, 21 were children, and 17 were men. Two of the deceased have so far been identified as Muslims.
Emdadul Haque, a professor from the Boroshashi area, said that the authorities could not avoid their responsibilities for allowing an overcrowded boat to sail.
Local people earlier alleged that members of law-enforcing agencies were present at the Ghat but none paid any attention to the boat sailing with extra passengers.
Nurul Islam Sujan, the lawmaker from Panchagarh 2 constituency and also the railways minister, visited the spot again on Tuesday and said that a joint police-fire service rescue operation would continue until all bodies were found.
‘Negligence caused this accident,’ he said, adding, ‘extra passengers got on the boat, defying the administration.’
Local people said that they had no choice but to use the waterway to go to the temple as there was no bridge in the area.
‘It takes only Tk 10 to reach the temple by boat. If it was not for this river, people would need to take a long detour to reach the temple,’ said victim Debasri’s father Narayan Chandra, a day labourer.
The railways minister informed that a project worth Tk 200 crore has recently been passed in the executive committee of the National Economic Council to build a bridge on the river.
