Cargo Carrying 5,000 Sacks of Rice and Paddy Sinks in Meghna River
Photo: Agamir Somoy
A cargo vessel carrying 5,000 sacks of rice and paddy sank in the Meghna River after being caught in a strong whirlpool at the confluence of three rivers in Chandpur. However, all five workers on board swam to shore safely.
The incident occurred Wednesday morning near the Puranbazar ghat in Chandpur town.
Ershad Majhi, the vessel’s operator, said the cargo vessel named Parbo left Pabna on Tuesday carrying 3,500 sacks of rice and 1,500 sacks of paddy bound for Chandpur. When it reached near the Puranbazar ghat on Wednesday morning, it was caught in a strong whirlpool at the confluence of the three rivers, lost control, capsized and sank.
He further said that the five workers on board quickly swam ashore and survived the accident. The overturned vessel was later taken to the bank of the Dakatiya River and moored there.
Nazmul Hossain Patowary, a director of the Chandpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry and general secretary of the Rice Traders Association, said the sunken rice and paddy belonged to seven traders in Purabazar. According to preliminary estimates, the incident caused losses of around Tk 10 million.
He further said that boat accidents occur frequently at the confluence of the three rivers in Chandpur during the monsoon season because of strong whirlpools and adverse river conditions. He urged cargo vessels and other watercraft operating on the route to exercise special caution.
Md. Azamgir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Chandpur River Police Station, told Agamir Somoy that they had not yet received any official information about the sinking. The matter would be looked into and necessary information would be provided.
Md. Kamruzzaman, deputy director of the Chandpur River Port of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), told Agamir Somoy that Deputy Director of the Naval Safety Department Babu Lal Baidya had been sent to the scene after receiving reports of the accident. Necessary measures would be taken after investigating the cause of the accident and the overall situation.
