Govt yet to start rescue operation in Shela

No rescue effort has been made in more than 24 hours after a coal-laden cargo vessel sank in the Shela river flowing through the Sundarbans, a Unesco-listed world heritage site in Bagerhat.

Only a red flag was hoisted yesterday at the spot near the Harintana forest station to caution other vessels plying the route.

With 1,235 tonnes of coal, MV Sea Horse sank on Saturday afternoon while going to Nowapara, Jessore from Chittagong. The bottom of its hull cracked when it reached the Sundarbans' Chandpai range under Mongla upazila.

The movement of cargo vessels on the route has remained normal following the incident, the authorities said.

The forest department and the Bagerhat district administration, meanwhile, have formed two committees to probe the incident.

One committee, headed by Assistant Forest Conservator Kamal Uddin Ahmed, will submit a report in three working days. The other, led by Mominul Rashid, additional deputy commissioner of Bagerhat, will submit its probe report within 15 days, said Zahangir Alam, deputy commissioner of Bagherhat.

Visiting the site, the DC told The Daily Star that he had directed the probe committee to find out the impact on the river.

Saidul Islam, divisional forest officer of the Sundarbans' east division, said he along with the DC and officials from the Mongla port, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and the Coast Guard visited the accident site yesterday.

The forest department sought help from the BIWTA and the Mongla port authorities in rescuing the sunken boat, he said.

Earlier, an oil spill caused an immeasurable damage to the world's largest mangrove forest after an oil tanker sank in December 2014 in the same river.

A United Nations team following the oil spill suggested closing commercial traffic in the river.

Meanwhile, the National Committee to Protect Sundarbans and Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon expressed concerns over the damage of the Shela river due to the latest incident.

The mangrove forest has been facing threats of destruction due to indifferent and irresponsible attitude of different government agencies, they said in a press statement demanding quick rescue of the vessel and punishment to those responsible for the incident.