30 killed, over 100 injured as launch catches fire in Jhalokathi

JHALOKATHI, Dec 24, 2021 – At least 30 people were burnt to death as a fire that broke out on a passenger launch in the Sugandha river in Jhalokathi district in the early hours of today.
So far 30 bodies have been recovered in this incident, according to local administration.
At least 100 people were rescued and admitted to the hospital. Many are still missing.
The fire broke out on the Barguna-bound MV Abhijan-10 launch at the Sugandha river in Jhalokathi around 3 am on Friday.
The launch was going to Barguna from Dhaka. The launch was reportedly carrying several hundred passengers.
Jhalokathi Sadar police station officer-in-charge Khalilur Rahman said at about 10:00am that the fire service rescuers and law enforcers search operation was in progress.
He said that the injured ones were rushed to Jhalokathi Sadar Hospital and, of them, the critically injured ones were being referred to Barishal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital.
Fire service officials said that at least 90 people were hospitalised until 9:30am.
‘The launch caught fire at about 3:00am on Friday while it was on its way to Barguna from Dhaka,’ said Kamal Uddin, deputy director of fire service and civil defence in Barishal.
He said that the rescue vessel was late to reach the spot due to dense fog.
Fire service officials said that they primarily assumed that the fatal fire might be originated from the engine room and engulfed the other places of the launch.
A number of passengers on the spot told reporters that they noticed the fire in the engine room of the launch at about 3:00am and jumped into the river to save their lives.



