Panchagarh boat capsize: Death toll hits 50

Death toll reached to 50 as 25 more bodies were recovered from the river in the boat capsize in the Karatoya River near Auliya Ghat under Boda upazila in Panchagarh district.

Fire Service and Civil Defence director (Operation) Lt. Col. Zillur Rahman said diving team has completed the rescue operation on the second day and they will resume operation on Tuesday morning. Twenty-five bodies have been recovered till Monday evening, he added.

The boat, which was carrying people to a temple for the Mahalaya festival ahead of Durga Puja, capsized in the river on Sunday. As many as 25 bodies, including those of eight children and 12 women, were found by rescuers after the incident on that day.

The rescue efforts resumed on Monday, with diving teams from Rajshahi, Rangpur and Kurigram also taking part in the operation, according to Sheikh Mahbub Islam, a Panchargarh fire service official.

Locals reported seeing five bodies floating on the Atrai River in Korotoa and nearby Dinajpur in the morning, he said. The authorities subsequently went to the spots and retrieved the bodies. The identities of the dead could not be determined immediately.

At least 41 people are still missing, the fire service said, citing a list given by the families.