Vessel with 500 passengers runs aground in Meghna

A Dhaka-bound passenger ship that had started from Chandpur ran aground for more than seven hours over a shoal in the Meghna river under Gazaria upazila in Munshiganj on Monday due to heavy fog. Witnesses said the launch ‘MV Anchal’ got stuck at Ismanir Char at around 4:00am with more than 500 passengers on board as the captain could not avoid the shoal due to impenetrable fogs. The passengers were leaving the stuck vessel with the aid of local boats.

They had been going through unbearable sufferings due to cold and shortage of foods and drinks. The vessel was still there till filing of the report at 11:00am. Some said it cannot move until high tide makes it afloat. Gazaria naval camp in-charge, Sakhawat Hossain, said the vessel was forced to anchor into the shoal due to the dense fog. Meanwhile, the ferry services between Shimulia in Munshiganj and Kawrakandi in Madaripur along the Padma river resumed around nine hours after termination due to dense fogs on Monday.

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