Fire service recovers fourth body at Cox’s Bazar beach
Photo: Agamir Somoy
Fire Service recovered the body of another missing tourist who went missing after entering the sea at Pechardwip Beach in Cox’s Bazar on Thursday morning.
Cox’s Bazar Fire Station Senior Station Officer Dolon Acharya confirmed the matter. With this, the death toll rose to four and one tourist remains missing.
The person has been identified as Harun from the Banglabazar Baizid area of Chattogram. Among the four deceased, Rohan and Jishan were residents of Uttara, Dhaka. Meanwhile, Akash and Harun were residents of the Banglabazar Baizid area of Chattogram. Nibir from Uttara, Dhaka, is still missing.
Dolon added that around 5 pm on Wednesday, five tourists from Chattogram and seven tourists from Dhaka were in the water at the Pechardwip Beach. As one of them began floating away into the sea, they shouted for help. Others stepped forward to rescue them.
At one point, they held each other’s hands to pull them to safety. However, their effort failed when a massive wave suddenly crashed down on them.
Driven by the force of the wave, several individuals became separated from one another and submerged in the water. About an hour later, local fishermen, the Fire Service, and the police recovered the bodies.
Dolon noted that the body has been sent to the morgue of Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital.
Cox’s Bazar Fire Service Sub-Officer Md Abu Jafar said not only individuals who cannot swim, but even those who know how to swim must be cautious when entering the sea. Raising awareness among tourists is essential to prevent such accidents.
He added that they asked the tourists whether they knew how to swim. The tourists replied that none of them knew how to swim. When asked why they entered such a large sea without knowing how to swim, the tourists told him that they were informed by the resort where they checked in that going into the water there would cause no issues.
Himchari Police Outpost Sub-Inspector (SI) Md Solaiman said alongside police officers from Himchari Police Outpost and Ramu Police Station, a team from the Fire Service is working to rescue the missing person. The rescue operation is still ongoing.
Ramu Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Zillur Rahman added that despite prohibitions from locals, the tourists entered the water at that location. At one point, when the accident occurred, other tourists stepped forward to rescue them. Necessary measures were not taken on behalf of the owner of the resort. Legal action will soon be taken against those responsible for this incident.
