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place as drivers of the vessels failed to see each other due to heavy fog.

Abdullah Al Mamun, superintendent of Dhaka district river police, confirmed the recovery of bodies of three men and a woman and their identities.

Several injured passengers were hospitalised, he added.

Jhalakathi police seized MV Adventure-9 after it anchored at the Jhalakathi launch terminal yesterday morning.

Four staffers were detained for interrogation.

SM Bayzid Ibne Akbar, additional superintendent of police (Sadar circle) of Jhalakathi, said the launch was handed over to the river police for further legal steps.

Barishal river police Superintendent Nazmul Haque said the Chandpur river Police would take the next actions as the incident occurred there.

Hours after the incident, Shipping Adviser Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain told reporters, “Launches operating without licenced drivers, failing to turn on lights, or violating regulations will have their licences and route permits revoked.”

The adviser said a committee has been formed to investigate the incident.

“The way one vessel hit the other suggests that the person operating it may have fallen asleep or handed control to someone else.”

The adviser said launches have been instructed not to operate at night during foggy conditions until visibility improves.

The families of the deceased in the incident will get Tk 1.5 lakh each, and the injured Tk 50,000 each, he added.

Zulfikar Ali, traffic inspector of the BIWTA’s marine safety and traffic management department in Barishal, said there is a directive to suspend all vessel movement when visibility drops below 100 metres.

“As part of cautionary measure, we made public announcements using microphones at the Barishal river port in this regard on Thursday. However, such announcements could not be made on Thursday in Jhalakathi as we do not have any staffer posted there,” he said.

He added that action is being taken against those who ignored the restrictions and continued vessel operations despite dense fog.

In another incident, two staffers of a bulk carrier lost their lives after a passenger launch rammed into their sand-laden vessel in the Buriganga in Narayanganj’s Fatullah early yesterday, causing it to capsize.

The victims were Zohurul Islam Shakil, 25, of Patukhali; and Md Hasan, 20, of Jhalakathi.

The bulk carrier was anchored, said BIWTA Assistant Director Kamrul Hasan, adding that the bodies were recovered from the sunken vessel’s engine room around 4:45pm, he added.

While three members of the bulk carrier, MV Kashfa Sneha, managed to swim ashore, the two others remained trapped inside. Thick fog might have caused the accident, said Inspector Akibul Islam, in-charge of Pagla river police outpost.

Narayanganj Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer SM Fayez Uddin told reporters that river police seized the Dhaka-bound launch, Sundarban-16.

Legal action will be taken in connection with the incident, he said.

[Our correspondents from Barishal, Jhalakathi, Chandpur, and Narayanganj contributed to this report.]