The local administration on Thursday handed over 25 bodies, out of 26, who died after a bus plunged into the Padma River at Daulatdia ferry ghat under Goalanda upazila in Rajbari district on Wednesday, to the victims’ families.
The Ministry of Shipping and the district administration, on the day, formed separate investigation committees to probe the incident.
The bus, operated by Sauhardya Paribahan, plunged into the Padma River while boarding a ferry at terminal No. 3 at about 5:15pm on Wednesday.
The Dhaka-bound bus from Kumarkhali in Kushtia lost control and fell into the river, which is about 30 feet deep at the point of the accident, Fire Service and Civil Defence officials said.
The bus was recovered on the day about six hours after it fell into the river. The salvage vessel, Hamza, lifted the bus from the riverbed at about 11:15pm on Wednesday.
‘As of 5:00pm on Thursday, a total of 26 bodies have been recovered. Of them, 25 bodies have been handed over to their families, while one body has been kept at Rajbari Sadar Hospital, the victim is from Dinajpur,’ said Rajbari deputy commissioner Sultana Akter.
Rajbari Fire Service and Civil Defence deputy assistant director Dewan Sohel Rana said on Thursday afternoon that the rescue operation had not been called off but temporarily paused.
‘We are collecting information. If we receive any report of missing persons, we will resume the operation shortly in a planned manner,’ he said.
He added that a total of 26 bodies had been recovered—23 on Wednesday and three on Thursday—while efforts were ongoing to determine if anyone remained missing.
A total of 15 divers from five Fire Service units took part in the operation, alongside members of the Coast Guard, River Police, and local administration.
The deceased include Rehena Akter and her son Ahnaf Tahmid Khan of Rajbari, Marzina Khatun of Kushtia, Rajib Biswas of Kushtia Sadar upazila, Zahura Anti and Kazi Saif of Sajjankanda village of Rajbari municipality, Marzina Akter and her daughter Safia Akter of Char Barkipara village of Goaland upazila, Israfil, son of Delwar Hossain of Kushtia, Faiz Shahnoor, son of Billal Hossain of Kalukhali upazila, Tajbid, son of KBM Musabbir of Rajbari municipality, Arman Khan, a driver from Baliyakandi upazila, Najmira alias Jesmin of Kalukhali upazila, Lima Akter and Jotsna of Rajbari Sadar upazila, Mukta Khanam of Kotalipara in Gopalganj, Nashima of Parbatipur in Dinajpur, Sabit Hasan, son of Shariful Islam of Rajbari Sadar, a fruit trader named Ujjal, Jahangir Hossain and Ashraful Islam of Kalukhali upazila, Ayesha Akter of Ashulia in Dhaka, Soha Akter of Rajbari municipality, Ayesha Siddika of Khoksa in Kushtia, Arman of Shailkupa in Jhenaidah, and Abdur Rahman of Kalukhali upazila in Rajbari.
The Ministry of Shipping, in a statement on Thursday, said that it had formed a six-member high-level investigation committee led by additional secretary Md Muhidul Islam, asking it to submit a report within three working days.
The committee has been tasked with uncovering the actual cause of the accident and identifying the people responsible for the tragedy.
The ministry also said that appropriate legal action would be taken against those found responsible after the investigation report, and necessary measures would be adopted to prevent such incidents in the future.
Separately, the Rajbari district administration formed a five-member probe committee headed by additional district magistrate Uchen May, with members from the police, BIWTC, Fire Service, and the Goaland upazila administration.
The committee has also been asked to submit its report within three working days, said the deputy commissioner Sultana Akter.
She further said that each victim’s family would receive Tk 25,000 as financial assistance, with cheques already distributed to nine families in Rajbari Sadar upazila and the rest to be provided through respective upazila administrations.
Md Monir Hossain, ghat supervisor at Daulatdia ferry ghat, said, ‘The bus fell into the Padma River from the pontoon right before our eyes, but we could do nothing. There were more than 40 passengers inside. Although a few managed to come out, most were trapped inside the bus.’
The incident shocked the nation, prompting different organisations and political parties, including the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party and opposition Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, as well as various ministries, to express condolences over the tragedy.
