Three teenagers’ bloodied bodies recovered one after another from Meghna
Locals gather near the Meghna river bank on Sunday. Agamir Somoy.
The bodies of three teenagers who drowned after stepping into the Meghna River in Sonargaon, Narayanganj, have been recovered one after another. River police found signs of injuries on their bodies. Locals believe they may have been killed after being struck by a bulkhead vessel.
The three—15-year-old twin brothers Arifin Ahmed and Ashikin Ahmed and their friend Abid Hossain—went missing around noon on Sunday after getting into the Meghna River in the Bhatibandar area of the upazila.
A diving team from Dhaka recovered the bodies of Arifin and Ashikin around 3:30pm. Abid’s body was recovered around 5:15pm, said Abdullah Al Arefin, deputy director of the Narayanganj Fire Service.
Arifin and Ashikin were the sons of Faruk Ahmed of Majlish area under Mogorapara Union. The twin brothers were ninth-grade students at Mogorapara HGGGS Smriti Government School. Abid, the son of their neighbour Abdul Alim, was an eighth-grade student at the same school.
According to police and the Fire Service, citing local residents, four teenagers entered the river to bathe around noon. One of them managed to return to shore, while the others went missing underwater. A Fire Service diving team later began a search and rescue operation.
Faruk Ahmed, father of Ashikin and Arifin, said, “They left home in the morning saying they were going to school. Later, I learned over the phone that they had gone missing after entering the river to bathe. My heart is empty now. How will I live with this?”
After learning that the children were missing, family members gathered on the bank of the Meghna River. Local residents also gathered there. Following the recovery of the bodies, the area was filled with the cries of grieving relatives.
Locals said they had seen several bulkhead vessels anchored in the Bhatibandar area. The four teenagers had gone into the river to bathe beside the vessels. They suspect that the three teenagers may have been struck by the vessels’ propellers and drowned.
Mahbub Alam, inspector and in-charge of the Baidyerbazar River Police Outpost, said the bodies were found in bloodied condition. They were sent to the morgue for autopsies. A case is in the process of being filed in connection with the incident.
