Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Natural Hazards Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Ferry With Hundreds Aboard Capsizes in Bangladesh
Topic Started: 4 Aug 2014, 10:59 PM (433 Views)
skibboy
Member Avatar

Ferry With Hundreds Aboard Capsizes in Bangladesh

BY REUTERS ON AUGUST 4, 2014

Posted Image
A file photo of of the overcrowded MV Shariatpur 1 passenger ferry which sank in 2012 in Bangladesh

By Serajul Quadir

Posted ImageDHAKA, Aug 4 (Reuters) – A ferry with about 200 passengers on board capsized in Bangladesh on Monday in a river southwest of the capital, Dhaka, and about 100 people were unaccounted for, the chief of the district administration said.

Low-lying Bangladesh, with extensive inland waterways and slack safety standards, has an appalling record of ferry accidents, with casualties sometimes running into the hundreds.

Overcrowding is a common factor in many of the accidents and each time there is an accident the government vows to toughen regulations.

Mohammad Saiful Hasan Badal, deputy commissioner of Munshiganj district, said about 100 passengers had been rescued from the vessel after it went down in the Padma river.

Two women had been taken to hospital and died and the remainder of those on board were unaccounted for, he said.

There was a possibility some had swum to the riverbank

“Most of the passengers were coming back to the city after celebrating Eid al-Fitr,” Saiful told Reuters, referring to the festival marking the end of the Ramadan fasting month.

Teams from the Inland Water Transport Authority, fire brigade and the army were helping with the rescue about 30 km (18 miles) southwest of Dhaka.

The stretch of river where the ferry sank was deep and the weather was bad meaning there was no sign of the boat under the choppy water.

Survivor Mohammad Suman told Reuters two of his brothers and a sister were missing.

“We were five altogether and I and another survived by jumping from the ferry,” he said.

In March 2012, a ferry sank near the same spot, killing at least 145 people.

(Reporting By Serajul Quadir; Editing by Ron Popeski)

(c) 2014 Thomson Reuters, All Rights Reserved Posted Image

Source... Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

More than 100 missing after Bangladeshi ferry capsizes

By Farid Ahmed, for CNN
August 5, 2014

Posted Image
Picture shows last moments of sinking ferry

Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) -- Search and rescue teams are searching for more than 100 people still missing after a river-going ferry capsized in Bangladesh, with three bodies recovered so far, a police official says.

The boat, the Pinak-6, capsized late Monday morning in the Padma river, around 60 km (37 miles) south of Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka.

Witnesses said the ferry had about 300 people on board when it sank.

Jakir Hossain Majumder, a superintendent of police, told CNN three bodies had been found and up to 129 passengers remained missing.

Some 110 people survived the accident, he said.

"The ferry was overcrowded and the river was very rough because of bad weather," Majumder said.

Authorities denied reports that the accident happened because of a collision.

One of the survivors, Abul Hossain, said that most people traveling on the boat's deck survived, but passengers in the cabins remained missing.

Exact numbers of missing were not initially available, as passenger manifests are often disregarded in the country.

Overcrowding of ferries is a persistent problem in Bangladesh, which sees scores of casualties from ferry accidents every year.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked rescuers to take all necessary steps to facilitate the rescue operation, and salvage the stricken vessel, the national news agency, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, reported.

Harmeet Shah Singh contributed to this report from New Delhi.

Source... Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

Cell Phone Video Captures Sinking of Bangladesh Ferry, 133 Still Missing

BY REUTERS ON AUGUST 6, 2014

Video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQTQDLfBVLU

By Serajul Quadir

Posted ImageDHAKA, Aug 6 (Reuters) – Authorities in Bangladesh investigating the sinking of a ferry with nearly 250 people on board have lodged murder charges against the owner and five others, including the captain, taking an unprecedented step in a country where such disasters are all too common.

The ferry, the MV Pinak-6, went down on Monday in a river swelled by monsoon rains about 30 km (18 miles) southwest of the capital, Dhaka, on Monday.

By early Wednesday, rescuers battling strong currents and choppy waves on the Padma river had given up hope of finding alive many of the 133 people still missing, officials in Munshiganj district said.

There were 110 survivors, and seven bodies had been found.

Police were seeking the captain, who was among the survivors, the owner and four others to answer the case brought against them.

They are accused of murder by the inspector of the state-run Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).

The agency has accused them of overloading passengers, plying ferry with an expired license, and disregarding instructions not to sail by the river authority due to bad weather conditions.

“Police are trying to arrest them, but they all went into hiding,” said Mohammad Saiful Hasan Badal, deputy commissioner of the Munshiganj district, where the ferry went down.

“If charges are proved then they might get capital punishment, since the case has been filed as a murder case.”

Low-lying Bangladesh, with extensive inland waterways and slack safety standards, has an appalling record of ferry accidents, with casualties sometimes running into the hundreds.

This is the first time in Bangladesh that a murder case has been filed against any ferry owner or crew for violating safety rules.

Committees of inquiry have been established after past sinkings, and they have made recommendations for changes in regulations, but overcrowding remains a common factor in such accidents.

The ill-fated Pinak had a capacity to carry 85 passengers, according to the inland transport authority.

(Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

(c) 2014 Thomson Reuters, All Rights Reserved Posted Image

Source... Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

Divers' failure to find sunken Bangladesh ferry dismays grieving relatives

By Farid Ahmed, for CNN
August 6, 2014

Posted Image
Distressed relatives await news of loved ones.

Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) -- A full day after a passenger ferry with as many as 300 people on board sank in Bangladesh, hundreds of anxious people waited on the bank of the Padma river until late evening as a search for bodies failed to turn up any sign of survivors.

Indeed, the rescuers failed even to trace the sunken ferry, leading to frustration and anger among those awaiting news of loved ones.

The crowds on the riverbank launched an impassioned protest against what they said was the administration's inept handling of the situation.

Authorities blamed conditions for the slow pace of the rescue.

"The search operation is badly disrupted as the rescuers from Bangladesh navy, coast guard and fire service are struggling against strong current and choppy water in the river," Saiful Hassan Badal, chief administrator of Munshiganj district, told CNN.

The rescuers believed that the strong current may have moved some of the bodies a significant distance from the scene of the accident.

"We've found a body in a river in Chandpur, nearly 100 kilometers away from the scene, but we're not sure if it was one of the ferry victims," Badal said. "We've alerted government offices in all the districts surrounding Munshiganj."

"Apart from the divers, our teams are constantly monitoring (feedback) from salvage vessels and helicopters," he said.

Shipping minister Shahjahan Khan said he had ordered legal action to be taken against the ferry owner and others as the boat was over capacity.

Badal told CNN the ferry had about 300 people on board when it sank, according to witnesses. Nearly 100 passengers were rescued shortly after the capsizing.

However, he said they were yet to be sure about how exactly how many people were missing because there were no records detailing how many people were traveling on the ferry.

"We've opened a control room on the riverbank to monitor the situation and we've received names of 120 missing people from relatives so far," Badal said. "But it's not verified."

Abul Hasem, who was looking for his elder brother, told CNN that he was frustrated with the response. "There are lots of people from the government offices, but they are doing nothing to find out our missing relatives."

Supervising the rescue operation, Khan tried to reason with an angry crowd \that surrounded him on the riverbank.

One woman had waited at the Mawa terminal for two days in the hope of finding some news of her sister.

"I want to see my sister... they (government) should at least find her body," Rehana Begum said.

The sister, an apparel factory worker, was traveling on the ferry and returning to Dhaka after celebrating Eid with the family in her home village of Faridpur.

The ferry, MV Pinak-6, capsized late Monday morning in the Padma river, around 60 km (37 miles) south of Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka.

One of the survivors, Abul Hossain, said that most people traveling on the boat's deck survived, but passengers who were traveling in cabins remained missing.

Overcrowding of ferries and poor monitoring system are persistent problems in Bangladesh, which sees scores of casualties from ferry accidents every year.

Source... Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

Owner of Overloaded Bangladesh Ferry Arrested on Murder Charges

BY GCAPTAIN ON AUGUST 13, 2014

Posted Image
An overcrowded ferry seen just before capsizing in this screen grab from a video of the incident.

By Ruma Paul

Posted ImageDHAKA, Aug 13 (Reuters) – A special Bangladesh anti-crime unit on Wednesday arrested the owner of a ferry that sank in a river killing about 110 people, the first time authorities took such action in a country where shipping accidents with heavy loss of life are common.

The ferry capsized and sank during bad weather on Aug. 4 in a river swelled by monsoon rain about 30 km (18 miles) south of the capital, Dhaka.

The vessel had a capacity for 85 passengers but was crammed with about 250 people returning to work in Dhaka after spending the Eid al-Fitr holiday in their villages.

Authorities had lodged murder charges against the owner, Abu Bakar Siddique, 60, and five other people including the captain, for overloading, operating the ferry with an expired license and disregarding the river authority’s instructions not to sail because of bad weather.

Siddique went into hiding but was caught early on Wednesday in the port city of Chittagong.

“Acting on a tip-off, he was arrested during a raid on a house,” Mufti Mahmud Khan, legal and media director of the interior ministry’s elite anti-crime unit, the Rapid Action Battalion, told Reuters.

About 48 bodies were recovered from the river but search operations were called off this week with at least 62 people still missing.

Low-lying Bangladesh, with extensive inland waterways and slack safety standards, has an appalling record of ferry accidents, with casualties at times running into the hundreds.

(Editing by Robert Birsel)

Source... Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Marine · Next Topic »
Add Reply

Skin by OverTheBelow