Meghna death toll rises to 54

Munshiganj Deputy Commissioner Saiful Hassan has declared the rescue operation to be over

The death toll from the MV Miraj 4 launch capsize in the Meghna River rose to 54 as rescuers have recovered 23 more bodies on Saturday.

Out of 54 bodies, 53 have been handed over to the family members.

Gajaria UNO Dr ATM Mahbubul Karim said: “No case has been filed yet in this connection.”

In a press conference, Munshiganj Deputy Commissioner Saiful Hassan officially declared the closure of the salvage operation around 3:15pm.

“The local administration will continue the rescue operation in Meghna and adjacent areas until all the missing are found,” he added.

He further said as per the government estimate, a total of 12 people are still missing.

BITWTA salvage vessel recovered the MV Miraj after 41 hours of search. The MV Miraj was seen half-plunged 15 meters away from the riverbank.

BIWTA Chairman Dr Shamsuddhoha Khandaker declared the rescue operation over after recovering MV Miraj at around 9am.

Later, the rescue operation was resumed at around 10am as per the directives of local MP Mrinal Kanti Das and Deputy Commissioner Saiful Hassan as the relatives of the missing people attacked the salvage vessel Prottoy.

On Thursday, the launch MV Miraj-4 carrying 200 passengers capsized during a storm on the Meghna river.

Source: Dhaka Tribune