Sufia loses life to launch collision while going to see doctor
“My sister somehow managed to swim ashore and contacted us with someone’s phone”
Sufia Begum met a tragic end to her life when a launch carrying over 50 passengers, including her, capsized in the Buriganga river at Dhaka's Shyambazar area on Monday morning.
"My mother was going to see a doctor with heart problems at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University. But the launch accident took her away from us before she could reach the hospital," Pavel, son of Sufia, broke down in tears in front of Mitford Hospital.
Her sister Shumi was also with her mother during the tragic accident. Luckily, Shumi managed to swim ashore and survive.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
"My mother had been coming to the hospital for routine check-ups over the last few months. She always came with my younger sister.
As usual, today, they started for Dhaka from Katpotti Lunch Ghat in Munshiganj," he said.
"When the launch was hit by another launch, my sister Shumi was outside the launch compartment. So, she jumped the moment she realised the launch was going to sink. But our mother was inside the launch," he added.
"My sister somehow managed to swim ashore and contacted us with someone's phone," Pavel said.
Hearing the news, Pavel and his brother Asad rushed to Dhaka at noon. They found their sister to be safe, but their mother was still missing.
Later, they found their mother's dead body in Mitford Hospital.
There was a sombre atmosphere in the hospital where people were wailing and mourning their near and dear ones who were lost to the launch capsize.
Some 32 bodies were recovered till the filing of this report after the launch carrying more than 50 passengers capsized in the Buriganga River, according to sources.
