Dhaka: Shipping Adviser Brigadier General (retd) Dr. M Sakhawat Hossain announced today that the government will provide Taka 1.5 lakh to the families of those who died in a launch accident at Chandpur. Families of each injured person will receive Taka 50,000, as he informed reporters after inspecting the damaged launches at Sadarghat in the capital.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the adviser expressed sorrow over the incident, noting that despite the river route being considered the safest form of transport, accidents can still occur. Sharing his own experience with waterway travel, he pointed out that many vessels fail to use lights while operating in the dark.
An eight-member committee has been established by the ministry to investigate the incident. Authorities have been instructed to arrest those responsible for the launch accident. The shipping adviser mentioned that the true cause of the incident will be determined after a thorough investigation.
The adviser outlined several directives, including prohibiting launches from operating in fog at night and mandating the use of lights if vessels are stationary at night. He also stated that bulkheads will not operate before 8 am this season, and violators of these instructions will face arrest.
In the future, any launch drivers who fail to operate their vessels properly, neglect to use lights at night, or disregard the given instructions will face cancellation of their route permits and licenses.
The accident involved a collision between two passenger launches, Zakir Samrat-3 and Adventure-9, amid dense fog on the Meghna River in the Harina area of Chandpur Sadar. The victims, Abdul Gani, 38, Md Saju, 45, Md. Hanif, 60, and Mosa Rina, 35, were all from the Bhola district.