4 killed in Sunamganj boat capsize

The bodies of four people who went missing after a boat capsized in a haor of Jagannathpur in Sunamganj while they were returning home after attending a religious event have been recovered.

Two bodies were found floating in the Roarkara area of Moiyar Haor in the upazila on Sunday morning. Earlier on Saturday, rescuers recovered the bodies of two others.

The deceased were identified as Hemendra Deb Nath, 37, son of the late Jagindra Deb Nath of East Bhabanipur area under Jagannathpur Municipality, and Adhir Deb Nath, 35, son of the late Anil Deb Nath from the same area. On Saturday, divers recovered the bodies of Satyendra Nath Sati, 65, son of the late Subal Deb Nath, and Arun Deb Nath, 45, son of the late Anil Deb Nath, both residents of the same area.

Nishi Deb Nath, a village resident who survived the boat capsize, said he and eight others started their journey home around 3:00am after attending a kirtan (devotional singing event). The boat sank after reaching the middle of the haor when a sudden gust of wind hit it.

“I was sitting at the back of the boat, so I fell into the water first. There was nowhere to take shelter in the haor. I kept swimming for a long time. My body became exhausted. I had given up hope of surviving. I could not breathe properly. A fishing boat came and rescued five people, including me. The remaining four drowned,” he said.

Jagannathpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shafiqul Islam confirmed the incident and said the bodies were handed over to the families without autopsies as no complaints had been filed by the relatives of the deceased.

Earlier, at around 8:00pm on Friday, nine people from East Bhabanipur area travelled by boat to Bharaut area nearby to attend a Hindu religious programme. While returning at around 3:30am, their boat capsized in the Baluchar area of Moiyar Haor.

Of the nine people on board, five managed to swim ashore, while four went missing. Two divers’ teams from the Sunamganj and Sylhet Fire Service units conducted a joint rescue operation throughout Saturday and recovered two bodies. The remaining two bodies were recovered on Sunday morning.