At least 27 people lost their lives, as a small launch carrying more than 100 passengers capsized after a collision with a cargo vessel in Bangladesh’s Shitalakkhya river, on April 4.
According to local media, five bodies were recovered on the day of the incident, with the rescuers retrieving 22 bodies a day later as a salvage vessel pulled out the launch.
Commenting on the salvage operation, officials informed that it has ended. The Navy, Coast Guard, fire service and police, all participated in the operation.
The passenger vessel, ML Sabit Al Hasan, sank after colliding with the cargo ship, SKL-3, at the mouth of the Syedpur Koyla Ghat on the Shitalakkhya River in Munshiganj.
The launch was heading to Munshiganj, while initial information reports that the cargo vessel fled the scene after the collision.
Now, a committee has been established to investigate the incident, which will submit its findings in the next five days.
The launch had about 150 passengers, with information saying that 50-60 of them were able to swim in the two banks, but three of them had to be rushed to the hospital.
In a similar incident, two fishermen lost their lives, while 15 were still missing on April 4, after their boat capsized following a collision with a bulk carrier in the Java Sea.
