LAUNCH RUNS AGROUND IN MEGHNA
Around 800 passengers of a launch that got stuck in Meghna river after hitting a hidden shoal in Haim Char upazila of Chandpur last night, were rescued after 14 hours.
The Patuakhali-bound launch, MV Sattar Khan-1 hit an underwater shoal at Aktel Point in the river around 11:00pm, said Md Moniruzzaman, officer-in-charge of Haim Char Police Station.
Local administration came to know about the launch when Shariatpur police informed them around 8:00am.
After a one-hour frantic effort, the authorities managed to locate the vessel, OC Moniruzzaman said.
Primarily, some passengers were rescued by local trawlers and later another launch, MV Rof Rof, rushed to the spot and rescued the trapped passengers, the police official added.
Many of the passengers fell sick as they were starving since last night due to lack of food.
The passengers will be sent to Patuakhali by another launch, Anchol, said Mobarok Hossain, deputy director of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority in Chandpur.
The launch started from Dhaka with around 800 passengers on board around 7:30pm yesterday.
Source: The Daily Star
