15 feared drowned in Padma boat tragedy
Staff Correspondent, Rajshahi
At least four persons including two children drowned and eleven others were missing when a mechanised boat drowned in Padma river near Rajshahi city on Monday.Forty-five people were rescued. The boat with at least 60 people and goods drowned in the mid-river on its way to Police Line Ghat near the city from Char Majardiar Ghat under Rajpara thana. Eyewitnesses said the overloaded boat was caught in a whirlpool and sank. BDR and the local administration sent emergency rescue boats and rescued 45 people and recovered four bodies. The dead have been identified as Abdul Quddus, 35, of Pabna, Liza Khatun, 3, Nur Jahan, 7 and Naim Sheikh, 4, of Char Majardiar village. Five of the rescued persons were rushed to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. BDR rescue boats are searching for the missing persons. BDR sources said the death toll may rise. Hundreds of people thronged the riverbank in search of their missing relatives.
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