Bus plunges into river
30 passengers missing
A diver gets out of the Rangamati river at Goma ferry terminal in Barisal during a rescue mission after a bus plunged into the river while trying to board a ferry. Inset, onlookers throng the shore. Photo: Star
At least 30 people went missing as a bus plunged into the Rangamati river yesterday after boarding a ferry at Goma terminal in Charadi union of the district.
The bus with more than 40 passengers was heading towards DC Road bus stand in Bakerganj upazila from Char Kauwa of Barisal town, said Babul Sikder, one of the passengers of the bus.
He said, "The accident occurred around 4:30pm when the driver failed to control the bus after boarding the ferry. The vehicle then skidded and plunged into the river breaking the safety chain on the ferry."
Some of the passengers of the bus had got off the bus when it reached the terminal, said another passenger, adding that about 10 more passengers had managed to get out of the bus through the windows and swum ashore.
An eight-member team of fire service, including three divers, was conducting rescue operation till filing of the report around 8:00pm. So far none has been rescued.
Mozammel Huq, one of the divers, said they had found the bus 30 feet under water with nobody inside.
The rescue operation was being hampered due to strong current and lack of underwater visibility, he added.
Salvage vessel Hamza of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has been asked to leave Barisal station for the spot to salvage the vehicle, said Abul Bashar Talukdar, deputy director of marine safety of BIWTA Barisal station.
Hamza had left Barisal station around 6:00pm and it would take six to seven hours to reach the accident spot, said Commander of the salvage vessel Ashraf Hossain.
Leader of the fire service team Abul Bashar said, "We are trying our best to find the missing passengers, but the salvage of the vehicle is not possible for us."
Shahidul Islam, deputy commissioner of Barisal, and other high officials of administration visited the spot.
Meanwhile, agitated people started staging demonstration, as there was no success in the rescue efforts.
Police of Barisal River Port and contingents of Bakerganj Police Station, Rapid Action Battalion and Armed Police Battalion have been deployed on both sides of the river to keep the situation under control.
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