A 60-year-old man drowned in the Karatoya river while swimming across it with his cattle in Panchagarh's Sadar upazila on Saturday afternoon.

The deceased was identified as Gul Mohammad of Bodapara village in Satmera union.

Tushar Kanti Roy, station officer of Panchagarh Fire Service, told The Daily Star that Gul Mohammad had crossed the river in the morning to graze his cattle on a char. Around 12:30pm, he was swimming back across the river with the cattle when he was caught in a strong current and swept away.

People on the riverbank heard his cries for help and tried to rescue him but failed.

After being informed, a Fire Service team rushed to the spot and launched a search operation with the assistance of local residents.

After several hours of searching, rescuers recovered his body from the riverbed around 2:45pm, about one kilometre downstream from where he had gone missing, the fire service official said.

Tushar also said injury marks were found on the victim's head when the body was recovered.

Family members suspect he sustained the fatal injuries after striking a cement boulder along the riverbank.

Ashraful Islam, officer-in-charge of Panchagarh Sadar Police Station, told The Daily Star that an unnatural death (UD) case has been filed in connection with the incident.