OUR CORRESPONDENT, Barishal

In the wake of the multiple launch accidents within the last few months, passengers were panicked after a dense smoke came out of a launch’s silencer pipe at Munshiganj terminal on Saturday night.

Prince Awlad-10 was going to Barishal from Dhaka. The incident took place when the vessel crossed the Munshiganj berthing point, prompting some of its passengers to call the national emergency number 999.

Eventually, the launch was anchored at the Munshiganj terminal as per the directions of firefighters and police. They checked thoroughly and found that nothing was wrong, so they let the launch go to its destination.

Barishal River Port Officer Mostafizur Rahman said the launch was anchored there for two hours.

Mahfuzul Haque, manager of Prince Awlad-10, said the silencer was new and such an incident occurred when it became heated.