Buriganga launch disaster was not an accident: state minister

State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury suspects there was foul play involved in the fatal collision between two launches on the Buriganga River which resulted in the deaths of at least 30 people.

The incident took place near Dhaka’s Shyambazar at around 9:30am on Monday.

"I feel that this was planned. This wasn't an accident but murder," he said after reviewing footage of the disaster on Monday.

The state minister also announced that the government will provide Tk 150,000 each to the families of the dead.

Aside from that, the families will also receive Tk 10,000 immediately to bear the costs of burying their loved ones, Khalid told bdnews24.com during a visit to the scene of the disaster.

A seven-strong panel, headed by a joint secretary to the shipping ministry, has been constituted to look into the incident. The other members include representatives of BUET, BIWTA, Department of Shipping and River Police.

The launch, Morning Bird, was heading toward Sadarghat from Munshiganj when it collided with the Moyuri-2 vessel from Chandpur, said BIWTA transport inspector Md Selim.

Morning Bird was carrying more than 50 passengers and some of them swam ashore. The other passengers remained trapped inside the vessel.

Witnesses said the Mayuri-2 was travelling backwards as it prepared to dock at Sadarghat's terminal for Chandpur after unloading passengers at the Lalkuthi terminal when the vessel rammed into the Morning Bird, which had sailed behind it