A tourist died after falling into the sea while parasailing in a Cox's Bazar beach today.

The deceased was identified as Shouvik Roy, of Khulna, who was visiting Cox's Bazar with a group of 9. The accident occurred around 12:30pm at Dariyanagar beach, police said.

Officer-in-Charge of Cox's Bazar Sadar Model Police Station Sheikh Mohammad Ali said Shouvik fell into the sea while going on a parasailing ride.

Shouvik was rescued and taken to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Resident Medical Officer Dr Subaktagin Mohammad Sohel said Shouvik was brought dead to the hospital at 2:10pm. The exact cause of the death can be determined after an autopsy.

Mahmudul Hasan, executive magistrate of the district administration's tourism cell, said the body has been kept at the hospital morgue.

He also said the district administration had instructed all parasailing operators to suspend operations due to adverse weather conditions. However, the operator involved in today's incident allegedly violated the directive and continued offering rides.

Since today's accident, the entire staff as well as the owner of the company have fled, he added.

Cox's Bazar Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mannan said no operator has been officially authorised to conduct parasailing activities on the beach.

"We have repeatedly shut down these operations, but they resume after some time," he said.

According to locals, the parasailing service involved in the accident is operated by a company, owned by Mohammad Farid. They alleged that the same operator had been involved in previous parasailing accidents.

Although the service was reportedly suspended following earlier incidents, it was later allowed to resume operations, raising fresh questions about regulatory oversight and enforcement of safety standards.