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Death toll in launch capsize rises to 42

Rescue operation abandoned; vessel yet to be salvaged

Mukhlesur Rahman Liton, Kishoreganj
The death toll from Monday's launch capsize in Ghorautra river at Nikli upazila rose to 42 as rescuers yesterday recovered 38 more bodies.
Later in the evening, the rescue operation was abandoned though the vessel was yet to be salvaged.
The divers of BIWTA and Fire Brigade and Civil Defence spotted the sunken launch and dragged it towards the shore, but found no body inside.
Talking to The Daily Star over phone from the spot last night, Deputy Director of Fire Service Abdus Salam said, "Divers have told us there is no body inside the launch."
Relatives of the missing ones however kept massing along the riverside, believing that more bodies might be stuck in the hull.
Meanwhile, none of the Officials concerned could say how many
passengers were still missing. Some of the survivors said the number would not be less than 25.
BIWTA Director Emdadul Haque said MV Chandpur sank minutes after being hit by a nor'wester near Ghoradigha village at about 5:00pm Monday. It was carrying over 150 passengers while it had capacity of only 50.
Immediately after the disaster, local police and villagers went on a rescue drive and recovered four bodies.
Divers of Bangladesh Inland WaterlYansport Authority (BIWTA) and Fire Brigade and Civil Defence reached the scene in the early hours yesterday. Till the evening, they managed to fish out 38 bodies.
"The divers could not start their job before dawn since the current in the river was too strong to work in the dark It wasn't possible to continue with search lights either as there was no electricity in the locality," said a BIWTA official. Sultan Ahmed, Deputy Commissioner of Kishoreganj district said the bodies were identified to be of eight-month-old Opurbo, Shohag 8, Shohan, 9, and Rita Akhter, 7. of Nikli, Arab Ali, 25, Yeasin, 6, Ikra Akhter, 12, Sohel Miah, 24, Jahangir, 35, Abdus Sattar, 50, Parui, 30, Israil, 6, Jobed, 40, Helal Mia, 26, Nurjahan Begum, 50, Sufia Khatun, 40, Saiful, 35, Dhiresh Chandra Das, 30, Sakhina, 55, Akash Chandra Das, 3, of Mitamoin upazila in Kishoreganj, Arfan.10, Dulu, 35, Sadek Miah,35, Nowagazi,35, Dulal Miah, 65, Golap Mia, 65, and Renu, 45, of Bhairab upazila, Sanchita Rani Das,30, Israil, 70, Fatema, 22, Mohon Saha, 24, Badal Sarker, 50, Rajan Sarker, 45, Swapan Saha, 40, Ratan Kumar Saha, 45, Taher Uddin, 35, Pradip Kumar Saha, 37, Ganesh Saha, 50, of Bajitpur upazila, Siddiq Miah, 55, and Jabed Ali, 65, of Narsinghdi, and Begum, 32,ofKuliarchar.
According to survivors, the river was calm and many passengers were on the deck when out of the blue a sudden rush of wind pounded the Mitamoin-bound launch from Kuliarchar.
"The vessel turned over moments after a massive jolt," Badal Chandra Saha, a cloth trader from Bajitpur, told this correspondent.
"I don't know I got off the sinking launch and swam ashore along with around 40 others," he said.
As the news spread, hundreds of relatives of the missing ones gathered on the riverbank early in the morning. Whenever a rescue boat came back with bodies recovered, they rushed to see if the ones they were searching were among those. Each time a body was identified it led to a heartrending sight as walling filled the air.
Ratna Begum, 22ofGhorakanda village of Nikli, has survived the capsize but lost three of her kids--eight-month-old Opurbo, Shohag, 5, and Shohan, 9.
Numbed with grief, she sat gazing into space as her relatives tried in vain to take her home, a walking distance from the scene.
Ratna was returning after meeting her husband, a small trader in Narayanganj.
According to statistics available at the shipping department. 3,657 people died in 408 launch disasters between 1976 and 2006 Around 250 died in 28 ferry accidents in 2003 and 60 died in 23 accidents in 2006.
The shipping department officials said most of around 8,000 motor vessels in operation lack basic safety standards
BIWTA yesterday formed a two-
member committee headed by its senior Deputy Director Mohammad Hossain to investigate the capsize.
The committee has been asked to submit report within a week The other member is shipping department magistrateTabibur Rahman.
BIWTA Chairman Abdul Mannan Howlader said members of the probe committee have already reached the spot and started their work
He said they dispatched two divers half an hour into the accident. Later, four divers from the fire brigade joined the two and launched the rescue efforts at 6:00am.
BIWTA officials said the authorities have already announced compensation for the victims' families as per its rules.
Families with at least one victim will get Tk 20,000 while those with more than one will get Tk 30,000. Besides, they will be given Tk 2,000 for burial.