& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Survived only to sink in an endless abyss

Shariful Islam and Shahin Mollah
It was surely her closest brush with death.
Out of nowhere, the launch jolted violently and Rita found herself neck-deep in water with her 10-month-old boy clenched to bosom.
As water swirled around the mother and son, she thought she
FROM PAGE 1
must not give up; she got to give it a try for the sake of Redwan, her only kid. She summoned all her courage and started pushing him up towards the surface.
After some long agonising moments, she succeeded throwing him out of the sinking vessel And that was the last thing she could remember.
Lady luck did not let her down as the baby boy kept afloat long enough to be spotted and rescued by local boatman Abdur Rahim.
Rahim, who ferries people between the banks, could not believe his eyes when he saw the tot floating in the pitch-black Buriganga.
He was at a tea stall by the waterside when the launch was going down 100 yards off the shore. "At once I ran to my boat and started rowing it as fast as I could towards the scene," he said.
Redwan was rushed to a local hospital as he lapsed into unconsciousness immediately after rescue. Later, he regained senses to see some anxious faces lit up. One of them was his 20-year-old mother who too made it to the shore.
Earlier in the morning, Rita and ■frerrnother-in-lawcajme to Dhaka all the way from Munshiganj Sadar. They went to a hospital so Redwan who has long been suffering from asthma could be checked by a specialistdoctor.
“We were returning home after seeing the doctor," Rita toldThe Daily Star. I'm afraid my mother-in-law could not make it.” she continued as her eyes brimmed overwith tears.
Her fears came true as later at night her mother-in-law's body was recovered.
Doubling over with insurmountable emotional pain. Abdul Karim could only wail that he too might have saved one or two of his family members if only he were with them. The launch capsize in the Buriganga yesterday has cost the 32-year-old man his en tire family.
His wife Minaki, 25, three-year-old daughter Kuheli, two-month-old daughter Jonaki and mother-in-law Jarina Begum were on board the ill-fa ted vessel on their way to a wedding festival at Saperchar in Munshiganj.
Minaki's brother Rashed, 13, however, managed to swim ashore from the sinking craft and informed Karim of the accident that shattered his world for ever. Karim said his wife and daughters were scheduled to return home at Shahidnagar under Lalbagh PoliceStation tomorrow.
Rashed said they were on the lower deck of the launch at the time ofthecapsize.
Karim received the bodies in the evening. He was not alone. Many others were seen taking the bodies of their near and dear ones.