A Ro-Ro ferry has once again slammed into a pillar of the Padma Bridge just a few weeks after a similar incident left at least 20 people injured.
After departing from the Banglabazar terminal on Monday evening with 27 vehicles on board, the Shimulia-bound vessel, named 'Bir Shreshtha Jahangir', struck pier No. 10 of the under-construction bridge around 7:45 pm, said BIWTC Manager Safayet Hossain.
A truck was tipped over on impact and landed on a car, leaving two people injured. They were subsequently rushed to a hospital, he said.
The ferry hurriedly laid anchor at Shimulia's terminal No. 2 as water began to fill up the rear end of the vessel after the collision. The fire service was later called to handle the situation, reports bdnews24.com.
Special arrangements are being made to pump the water out while simultaneously carrying out repair work on the cracked floor.
A wrecker has been deployed to remove the vehicles from the vessel, said Safayet.
The ferry was transporting 16 small vehicles and 11 trucks along with several passengers.
Meanwhile, an official of the Padma Bridge authority who did not want to be named, said that some of the concrete on the pillar had been chipped off in the collision.
"The bridge did not suffer much damage but such an incident is still unacceptable."
Earlier on Jul 23, a ferry hit pillar No. 17 of the Padma Bridge on its way to Shimulia from Madaripur's Banglabazar.
