Two lighter vessels capsize in Bay

Two lighter vessels capsized in the Bay of Bengal near the Noakhali’s Bhasanchar coast in two separate incidents today.

A crew member of one of those vessels remained missing till filing of this report at 6:45pm, our Chattogram correspondent reports.

In the first incident, MV Khajababa Faridpuri after loading 1700 tonnes of wheat from a mother vessel at Chattogram port left for Naranganj in the morning.

While crossing Bhasanchar area near Sandwip, the vessel ran aground to a shoal around 11.30am due to shallow water and tilted on one side, said Md Selim, deputy director of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA). 

As the water level swelled up due to high tide the vessel gradually sank, said the BIWTA official said adding that one of the crew members went missing.

The rest of the crew members were rescued by the coordinated rescue operations carried out by the members of Bangladesh Navy, Coast Guard and staffs of other lighter vessels passing by, he further said.

Another Narayanganj-bound vessel MV N Islam, carrying 1200 tonnes of corn from Chattogram, was hit by another lighter vessel at the same area around 2.30pm.

As the vessel started sinking following a crack developed at its bottom, the master guided it towards the Bhasanchar coast. He managed to beach the vessel, but later it capsized as water filled in the hull through the crack, Selim said.

All the 13 crewmen were rescued, he added.

A BIWTA vessel was on way from Chandpur to mark the spots of the mishaps by anchoring floating buoys to avert further accidents.