At least 12 passengers have gone missing after a trawler hit by a launch capsized on the Dhaleshwari River in Narayanganj.
The trawler was ferrying more than 100 people on Thursday morning. In the middle of the river, a Dhaka-bound passenger launch, MV Sobhan, hit the trawler near the Dharmaganj jetty in Fatulla as dense fog reduced visibility, said Abdullah Arefin, deputy assistant director of the Narayanganj Fire Service.
The trawler went down in the river, but many passengers managed to swim ashore, while some were rescued by other vessels, reports bdnews24.com.
Six divers from the Fire Service, accompanied by the river police, have started rescue efforts.
Enayetnagar Union Council Chairman Asaduzzaman blamed the accident on the thick morning fog. Though the launch authorities threw lifebuoys at them, the passengers of the trawler could not see them due to fog.
Families arrived on the river banks in search of the missing passengers. The authorities are making a list of the missing passengers, said Md Rifat Ferdous, executive officer (UNO) of Narayanganj Sadar Upazila.