Death toll from Jhalakathi launch fire climbs to 39
24 December 2021, 08:41 pm | Updated: 27 November 2024, 02:02 am
At least 39 people were charred to death and 72 others injured in a massive fire that ripped through a launch carrying some 800 passengers from Dhaka to Barguna in the early hours of Friday.
The blaze, in fact, began on Avijan-10 in the midstream of the Sugandha River off the coast of Jhalokati district's Sadar upazila, 250kms south of Dhaka, around 3am. Within five to 10 minutes, the flames engulfed the vessel.
"We were alerted around 3.30am," Fazlul Haque of Fire Service and Civil Defence in Barishal, told UNB. However, the first firefighting vessels took some time to reach the ill-fated launch due to dense fog in the area.
“Thirty-seven bodies have been recovered and 72 people rescued from the ill-fated launch," said Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP).
Of the 37 bodies, four were identified and the remaining 33 bodies were sent to Jhalokathi Sadar Hospital Morgue, said the ASP.
Of the 72 injured, 66 have been admitted to Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital (SBMCH) in Barishal with serious burns. The others are being treated at Jhalokathi Sadar Hospital.
