Death toll from sinking of Karatoa engine boat rises to 55

Search for missing passengers of capsized engine boat still on in the in Panchagarh

Panchagarh, Sept 26 – The death toll from the boat capsize in the River Karatoa rose to 55 as nine more bodies were fished out in Boda upazila of Panchagarh Monday, police said.

Divers from three firefighting units recovered the 9 bodies from different spots of the river, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Boda Police Station Sujoy Kumar Roy told UNB.

Among the dead was Kabita Rani, 50. The identities of the others could not immediately be confirmed.

Earlier, SM Sirajul Huda, superintendent of Panchagarh Police, said they received a list of 40 missing people from their relatives.

Meanwhile, a five-member probe body, headed by Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Dipankar Roy, was formed to investigate the capsize, said Md Zahurul Islam, deputy commissioner of Panchagarh.

The committee was asked to submit its report within three working days.

Sunday, the overloaded boat carrying 60-70 passengers, mostly Hindu devotees, sank in the middle of the river while heading towards Badheshwar Temple on the occasion of Mahalaya around 2:30pm.

Twenty-five bodies were recovered from the river on that day while many others managed to swim ashore.

The operation to trace the remaining missing continues. - UNB