BIWTA probe finds

Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

Two masters and two drivers of Mayur-2 launch, which hit a smaller vessel and caused it to sink and drown 34 people in the Buriganga, were responsible for the accident, a probe committee finds.

“They manifested a lack of skill in operating the launch [Mayur-2],” said a member of the body formed by Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) yesterday.

“We did not hold the owner of Mayur-2 responsible as we found the accident happened due to fault in the vessel operations,” he told The Daily Star, wishing anonymity.

The committee also made 16 recommendations to prevent such launch accidents in future, he said.

The recommendations include giving training to launch masters and drivers properly, installing modern technology at launches so that masters can get signals about the presence of nearby vessels earlier, and shifting a dockyard from Mirerbagh along Buriganga elsewhere as many launches anchor there to get them repaired, which may cause such accidents.

BIWTA Joint Director Zainul Abedin, who is leading the BIWTA-formed four-member committee, said they submitted the report yesterday.