Rescuers yet to salvage the utility ferry Rajanigandha which was capsized in the Padma river in Paturia area of Manikganj district early Wednesday carrying nine loaded vehicles.
Fire service drivers also could not recover the body of the second master of the capsized ferry Humayun Kabir till filing the report at around 8pm.
According to the local sources, the fire service divers team started searching to rescue him from 10 am Thursday but failed.
Missing Humayun Kabir, also the president of BIWTC Workers Union Aricha region, hailed from Bhandaria upzial of Pirojpur district.
BIWTA Chairman Commodore Arif Ahmed Mostofa said, “It is not possible to rescue the capsized utility
ferry by rescue vessel Hamja. So we are bringing another rescue ship Prattay from Narayanganj. The rescue ship was schedule to reach at the spot by noon (Thursday)”, the BIWTA chief said.
The ferry services resumed at around 8am Thursday while the communications on Paturia-Dawlatdia navigation channel was disrupted for several hours on Wednesday for deep fog.
According to Abdul Salam, a senior official at the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority's Paturia office, one truck was recovered on Thursday.
Earlier on Wednesday, two covered vans were recovered.
Mizanur Rahman, the owner of one of the trucks on the ferry, expressed dissatisfaction with the progress of the rescue operation.
"We are not happy with the rescue operation. Since the ferry sank yesterday, only two trucks have been salvaged. That's a significant loss for us. If the truck had been retrieved more quickly, perhaps some of the goods could have been saved."
Rubel, a local resident, also lamented the progress of the salvage work. "The ferry sank yesterday, but the rescue ship couldn't arrive in time. If the trucks had been retrieved sooner, some of the goods might have been salvaged.”
Abdul Hamid, the deputy assistant director of Manikganj Fire Service, said that start of the second day's rescue operation was delayed due to heavy fog and the need to wait for instructions from the BIWTC.
Highlighting the challenges facing the rescue operation, he said, " The operation has been difficult to conduct with only one rescue ship. It would be more effective with all three ships involved."
Shah Mohammad Khaled Nawaz, regional deputy general manager of the BIWTC in Aricha, said authorities are still unclear about the exact cause of the incident and an investigation is underway to pinpoint the reasons.