Four die as boat sinks in Gazipur

Four people, including a woman, drowned and a teenage boy went missing after a boat sank in the Shitalakkhya river near Kapasia of Gazipur yesterday.

Three of the dead are Atique, 24, Tajim Khan, 25, and Kohinur, 25. All of them were from Shibpur of Narsingdi, said police. The other deceased, aged around 50, could not be identified immediately.

Abu Bakar Siddique, officer-in-charge of Kapasia Police Station, told The Daily Star that the boat, which was carrying some 14 to 15 passengers, had come from Shibpur. It sank near Taraganj ghat (terminal) of Kapasia around 6:30pm.

It could not be confirmed how the accident happened. But some locals said the boat turned over after some passengers rushed to get down.

Some passengers, including two children, swam to the shore. The others, however, remained missing.

Later, locals along with firefighters mounted a search and recovered the four bodies.

The name of the missing boy is Himel, 17, said the OC while talking to this correspondent around 1:00am today.

Akhtaruzzaman, deputy assistant director of the fire service and civil defence, said six of their divers were conducting a search in the river.