4 more bodies recovered

Four more bodies were recovered yesterday from the river Meghna in Sadar upazila of Narsingdi after a boat capsized during a storm on Thursday, increasing the death toll to seven.

Earlier on Thursday, three bodies were recovered. Of the total seven, five were members of a family.

The deceased were identified as Bayezid, 2, and Faisal, 7, sons of Faruk Miah of Kathalia village of the district; Sumaiya, 9, and Omainy, 4, his daughters; Farzana Aktar, 8, daughter of Swapan Miah; Falani Begum, 60, wife of Rudro Miah; and Noor Begum, wife of Sahazuddin of Bogargoth village.

The engine-run boat with around 70 passengers was going to Bogargoth in the upazila from Narsingdi's Puranchar area.

The boat was caught in the storm around 3:00pm and sank in the middle of the river in Bogargoth area. Most of the passengers managed to swim ashore.

A team of divers from the Fire Service and Civil Defence in Narsingdi and Dhaka recovered the bodies.

Ruhul Amin Mollah, warehouse inspector of Narsingdi Fire Service, said the rescue operations were hampered due to the tremendous current and waves of the river till 10:00pm on Thursday.

However, the boat could not be recovered yet, he added.

Local administration of Narsingdi gave Tk 5,000 to each of the victim families.