Teen killed, 2 missing as launch downs boat on Meghna

A 15-year-old fisherman was killed and two others went missing as a Barishal-bound launch sailed over a fishing boat in the Meghna River in Chandpur on Sunday night.

The deceased was identified as Abdul Jalil, 15, said Md Mizanur Rahman, in-charge of Chandpur Harina River Police Outpost.

The missing fishermen are Md Riyad, 17, son of Matin Bhuyia  and Md Moktar, 18, son of Nuruzzaman Sheikh. One of the fishermen, Md Faruk, 20, son of Gafur Bepari was rescued alive. They all are residents of Eidgah Bazar of Ibrahimpur union under Chandpur Sadar upazila, he said.

Later, Faruk was admitted to the district Sadar hospital in critical condition.

The four fishermen were fishing in the river in the Harina area on Sunday night. At one point, a Barishal-bound launch, suspected to be the MV Karnaphuli-3,  hit the boat due to dense fog. Three fishermen went missing while one (Faruk) was rescued alive, he said.

Of the three, Abdul Jalil's body washed ashore. The other two fishermen are still missing till this evening, the policeman added.

The police officer, however, said that it was not possible to identify the launch, whether it was MV Karnaphuli-3, due to heavy fog. However, an investigation is going on in this regard.

The river police are still continuing the search operation for the missing fishermen in the river, he added.

A joint rescue operation will be conducted in the Meghna River and its surrounding areas tomorrow morning (Tuesday).

An unnatural death case has been filed over the accident.

The body was handed over to the family after the due procedure, he added.