The death toll in the Thursday’s launch capsize in the River Kirtonkhola in Barisal raised to 41, including the 14 bodies, recovered from the engine room of the capsized launch and river on Saturday and Sunday.
   At least 15 passengers of the launch were missing as their relatives had been searching for the bodies in the river by trawler, boat, and fishing nets till filing of this report at 7:15pm on Sunday.
   But the operator of the launch and BIWTA officials could not say the exact number of passengers, who were on board at the launch while meeting the disaster.
   Locals apprehend that the death toll in the launch capsize will rise.
   Of the 14, the bodies of Md Kamal, 28, was recovered from the engine room of the capsized launch on Saturday morning, and Kawsar Hossain, 17, an HSC examinee of Savar Alia Madrassah and son of Shajahan Mia, Taslima Begum, 31, wife of Harun Majhi, and Sagor, 8, her nephew and son of Abu Zafar of Charabdani area near the disaster spot on Saturday evening.
   And the bodies of Hanif Mia of Amtali upazila in Barguna, Moslem Chawkidar, 40, son of Kalai Chawkidar, Khaleque Molla, 50, husband of an expatriate Kohinoor Begum of Pereira road in Barisal, Nur Muhammad Bepari, 58, a retired teacher of Char Hogla Laxmipur Madrassah, Faruk Master, 45, a teacher of Bhasanchar high school, Md Rubel, 26, of 50/3, Sultanganj at Rayer Bazar in Dhaka, Bimol Chandra, 35, of Patarhat, and Nurunnessa Begum, 31, of Mehendiganj, were recovered on Sunday morning.
   The body of an unidentified 10-year minor boy was recovered from the river in the afternoon while the body of another minor boy Shohag, 11, son of Jafar of Bhasanchar recovered at about 7:15pm in the evening.
   The inquiry committee formed with the district BIWTA and police officials had inspected the colliding vessels on Friday while another enquiry committee, headed by a joint secretary of shipping ministry, inspected the vessels at the Barisal BIWTA marine workshop jetty on Saturday morning.
   Immediately after the inspection on Saturday morning, some boys from the locality, entered the jetty and found the body of one Kamal inside the engine room of the salvaged launch at about 11:00am.
   Hayatul Islam, an assistant commissioner of Barisal Metropolitan Police, another member of the enquiry committee said that the number of the recovered bodies had raised to 41 — 25 males and 16 females — after the recovery of four, including one from the engine room and three from the river on Saturday, and 10 more from different points surrounding the mishap spot on Sunday.
   Rafiqul Islam, a deputy director and port officer of BIWTA in Barisal, who is a member of the inquiry committee, said according to the inland marine law any water transport carrying more than 100 tonnes of passenger or cargo while plying the major river routes must take piloting service from the conservancy and piloting department of the BIWTA for safe navigation to avoid accident.
   The launch ML Fahmida-Happy Express with around 100 passengers on board was hit by a cargo vessel MV Sanim carrying fly ash had capsized in the River Kirtonkhola at about 6:20am on Thursday morning at the Beltala-Charbadni point, after its departure from the Barisal port at 6:05am.
   The launch was salvaged at 5:00pm, 27 bodies were recovered, and the salvage operation was declared completed at 7:00pm on Thursday.
   The salvage operation and the investigation raised questions among the public when so many bodies were recovered from the river and engine room of the rescued launch after declaring the salvage operation completed and inspections of the launch at the jetty by two enquiry committees.

Source: New Age