In a very tragic incident, at least 24 people drowned and many others went missing after a boat capsized. The boat which they have been travelling capsized at the Karatoya river in the northern district of Panchagarh in Bangladesh on Sunday.
The accident took place in Auliar Ghat area under Maria Union Parishad of Boda Upazila. According to the rescued passengers and locals, people from the Hindu community from Boda, Panchpir, Marea and Banghari areas were going from Aulia Ghat towards Badheshwar temple to offer prayers on the occasion of Mahalaya which marks the arrival of Goddess Durga.
According to the reports, the boat had carrying more passengers than required and it overturned after sailing to the middle of Karatoya river. Some of the passengers were able to swim to ashore while few went missing. Soon after receiving the information, Panchagarh deputy commissioner Mohammad Zahurul Islam rushed to the spot and he said that 24 people drowned as the boat was packed with passengers. Sujoy Kumar Roy, officer in-charge of Boda police station, said search operations are underway to rescue the missing people.
According to news agency ANI, naval officials said more than 95% of Bangladesh’s hundreds of thousands of medium and small-sized boats do not meet the minimum safety standards. But millions of people in Bangladesh rely on boats and ferries to travel to the capital Dhaka or other major cities.