Kochikhali: The body of Mahit Abdullah, 16, a tourist who went missing on Saturday at Dimer Char, close to Kochikhali in the Eastern Sundarbans, was recovered after 30 hours from the southern part of the Bay of Bengal. Fishermen discovered the body floating in the sea around 3 pm today while netting fish. Upon receiving information, a Coast Guard team from Mongla station arrived at the scene and took custody of the body from the fishermen, as confirmed by the Media Cell of the Kochikhali BCG outpost and Md Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, DFO of the East Sundarbans Division, this evening.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, DFO Chowdhury stated that family members, including the deceased’s father, had already reached the Kochikhali BCG station and identified Mahit. The body is set to be handed over to his father after completing the necessary legal procedures.
Md Mizanur Rahman, Acting Officer (Forester) of the Kochikhali Wildlife Sanctuary under the Sharankhola Range, informed BSS that the incident occurred around 11 am, shortly after the vessel anchored near Dimer Char. The tourists had disembarked to explore the area, and Mahit Abdullah, along with his father, Sheikh Sultan Mahmud Asad, and his mother, entered the water for a swim. Mizanur added that Mahit was swept away by a strong current while bathing, despite immediate rescue attempts by the ship’s crew and forest rangers. Tragically, he disappeared beneath the waves and could not be located.
Joint search and rescue efforts by forest guards, the Coast Guard, and the Navy were conducted on Saturday and Sunday until Mahit’s body was found. The tourist vessel, MV The Explorer, had departed Dhaka on Friday evening with 75 tourists and was scheduled to return to Khulna by Sunday night, as mentioned by Nazmul Azam David, General Secretary of the Tour Operators of the Sundarbans Association.