Staff Reporter:
Divers from the Bangladesh Navy have started an operation to salvage the sunken trucks from the Padma River, a day after a ferry capsized near Paturia ferry ghat in Manikganj.
Rescue ship Rustom reached the spot around 11am on Thursday but another vessel Pratyay did not reach till noon. As a result, the authorities failed to conduct an operation to salvage the sunken ferry, Rajanigandha.
Shah Jahan, director (river preservation and management department) of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), said the operation to salvage the ferry will start when rescue vessel Pratyay will arrive here.
But divers from the Bangladesh Navy are conducting drives to salvage the sunken trucks from the river, he said.
Already a truck was salvaged from the spot, said Shah Paran, head of the divers’ team. They are also trying to salvage the other sunken trucks, he added.
Meanwhile, the transport workers expressed dissatisfaction over the slow progress of the salvage operation.
On Wednesday, the ferry with pick-up trucks and covered vans sank in the river.
Two separate probe bodies were formed over the incident on Wednesday.
