'Cargo ship causes Tk 5 million damage to Kalurghat Bridge with a collision'

Bangladesh Railway has said the recent collision of a cargo ship with the Kalurghat Bridge in Chattogram has caused Tk 5 million worth of damages to the bridge.

The railway authority reported the extent of the damage in a case filed at Government Railway Police’s Chattogram Station, bdnews24.com report said.

According to the case filed by Limon Majumder, a senior deputy assistant engineer at the Railway Bridges Division, the empty vessel struck the 9th and 10th spans of the under-renovation bridge around 1pm.

"The under-slang girders, walkways, and railings of spans 9 and 10 of the bridge were damaged. The estimated loss is Tk 5 million.”

On Tuesday, the cargo vessel MV Samuda-1 rammed the Kalurghat Bridge in Chattogram before getting stuck.

Ekram Ullah, the chief of Sadarghat River Police Station, said three people, including the ship's master and steersman, were arrested in connection with the incident on Thursday.

The arrestees are MV Samuda-1 quartermaster Ferdous Rahman, steersman Yamin Molla, and greaser Shahadat Hossain.

Kalurghat Bridge is one of the main points of connectivity between Chattogram city and parts of the Boalkhali and Patia Upazilas. In addition to vehicles, trains also use the bridge.

It was closed for renovations on Aug 1 last year ahead of the launch of a Cox’s Bazar rail route.