Bodies of workers recovered 23 hours after ship accident
The dockyard is operated allegedly without proper authorisation
The fire service on Friday recovered the dead bodies of two dockyard workers in Brahmaputra River a day after they fell in a ship accident in Narayanganj's Bibijora area.
The two workers, Yaa Rasul and Rasel, were crushed under a ship when it was being floated on the river experimentally on Thursday. The ship got stuck halfway in the sand at the dockyard.
Both the victims hailed from Jhauchar area of Sonargaon upazila. They had been working as construction workers at the dockyard for the past few years. Four workers were also injured during the incident.
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Our correspondent reported two units of fire service and their divers went to the spot on Thursday. The body of Yaa Rasul was found at around 12am but could not be recovered as it was stuck under the ship at night. The other worker, Rasel, had been missing in the floating dock.
Later, in the morning, firemen cut the ground of the ship through dredger and found the bodies of Yaa Rasul and Rasel at the same place.
Later, the dead body was handed over to their relatives without performing an investigation.
Some officials, including Bandar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shukla Sarkar and the officer-in charge of Bandar police station, visited the spot.
Shukla said, for the burial, each of the victims' family will get Tk20,000 from the district administration and the bodies have been delivered to their house.
She also said, "Local people claimed the dockyard is being operated without authorisation. The shipbuilding has been operating illegally for so long and the company has no valid licence."
The owner of the dockyard has been absconding since the incident. When asked about it, Bandar Police Station OC Mohammad Rafiqul Islam said, "We have been investigating the issue. Legal actions will be taken if the complaint is proved."
