The body of Humayun Kabir, the assistant engine master of the Utility ferry Rajanigandha, was found six days after the vessel sank near the Paturia Ferry Terminal in Manikganj.
The body was recovered from the area adjacent to Bahadurpur Ghat of Harirampur Upazila, about 13 kilometres downstream from the scene of the incident at around 4:30 PM on Monday. Fire Service Wire House Inspector Mojibur Rahman confirmed this information.
Humayun Kabir is the son of Abdul Latif of Bhandaria Haribhanga area of Pirojpur district.
Warehouse Inspector Mojibur Rahman said a body was recovered from the area adjacent to Bahadurpur Ghat of Padma River in Harirampur Upazila. Later Rafiqul Islam, the younger brother of Humayun Kabir, assistant master of Rajnigandha who drowned, identified his brother's body.
Preparations are underway to recover the body and send it to Manikganj for post-mortem.
Earlier, on January 17 at 8:30 am, the ferry Rajnigandha sank in the Padma River near Paturia Ghat in Manikganj with 9 vehicles, including a covered van and a truck. Rescue operations were hampered by extreme cold and fog.
While picking up another truck from a ferry that sank in the Padma at Paturia in Manikganj, the rescue vessel 'Hamzar' snapped its crane cable and fell again.
Deputy Assistant Director of Manikganj Fire Service, Abdul Hamid Miah said that the rescue operation started around 11 o'clock on Monday. Later, another truck was detected in the area of the number five ferry ghat. The truck was being towed near the pontoon of ferry no 2. After lifting it half way, it fell again after breaking the rope of the rescue ship Hamza's crane.
The fire service official said that the truck could be picked up in a while; However, it was not possible to recover it till 5:30 pm.
Ferry Rajnigandha-7 with nine vehicles sank near Paturia ghat around 8 am on Wednesday. Two investigation committees formed by the district administration and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) are working to investigate the cause of the ferry sinking. The committee is expected to submit its inquiry report within seven working days.
BIWTC Aricha Region Deputy General Manager Shah Mohammad Khaled Nawaz said, "The salvage vessel 'Hamza' went and recovered a covered van and a truck on the day of the ferry sinking. The next day another rescue ship "Rustom" went and rescued a truck loaded with cotton. A truck was also recovered on Sunday.
He said that the rescue operation is being hampered due to severe cold and fog. He said, "We have been informed several times from the information of BIWTA, that 'Pratya' can make the sinking ferry visible before Sunday evening. But it has not yet been done."
When asked why the ferry could not be rescued even after six days, Lieutenant Shah Paran Emon, head of the Navy's diving team, said, "More than half a hundred divers of the Navy, Fire Service and BIWTA are working. Large wire ropes pass under the ferry and are attached to the overhead crane. On the other side, efforts to free the ferry by attaching wire ropes are continuing.
Shah Paran Iman said "In the extreme cold and fog, the water cannot remain for long. As a result, rescue operations are being diFerry capsize in Padma
The body of the engine master was found, cold, dense fog hampers rescue operations