‘I have never seen so many bodies together’

"I have never seen so many bodies together, even at the age of 50 in my life," exclaimed Abdul Majid, a resident of Mirkadim municipality in Munshiganj regarding the victims killed in the capsize incident in the Buriganga. 

"Everyone is now busy with whom to comfort and who will dig the graves, such an incident which leaves a mother's chest empty should have never have happened," said Abdul, amid the heavy air filled with the mourning of relatives of the victims in Mirkadim.

Earlier in the day, a passenger vessel named MV Rishan Morning Bird had a head-on collision with MV Moyur, a launch plying on the Dhaka-Chandpur route. The MV Rishan Morning Bird capsized in the river with 50 passengers onboard. 

Five people from Munshiganj's Mirkadim municipality died, including two siblings from the same family. 

The whole area seems to have turned into a place of mourning because of the deaths of 5 people who used to live within 5000 square feet of each other.

"Most of the launches operating on the Dhaka-Munshiganj route have little to no fitness, and MV Rishan Morning Bird was one of them," said Sabbir Ahmed, a resident of the same area.

Meanwhile, Didar Hossain, 45, - of Paschimpara in Rikabibazar of Munshiganj, was a pulse trader - left for Dhaka with his sister Ruma Begum (40) to see his elder sister's sick husband, both were killed during the incident.

According to the relatives, Didar had married seven months prior to the incident which left his wife widowed. 

With immense shock, Didar's widow, Rukhsana cried out, "Allah, why did this happen?"

"Most of the launches on this route are driven by incompetent drivers. The owners of these launches run them without repairing or maintaining them properly due to political patronage," said Abdul Malek, a relative of the deceased Didar Hossain.

"As a result, passengers are forced to travel on such launches at the risk of their lives. And because of the risky launch, about 32 people lost their lives in Munshiganj today," he added.

Rubel, a resident of Paschimpara, said four people from Paschimpara had died in the incident. The bodies of three people have been found so far.

One of the victims, Sufia Begum,50, whose body has not been found yet, was accompanied by her daughter Suma Begum, who miraculously survived.

"Due to the indifference of the BIWTA authorities, these risky launches operated from Sadarghat to various launch ghats including Munshiganj, Chandpur, Narayanganj," complained Ashek Mahmud, a relative of the deceased Sufia Begum.

Meanwhile, Munshiganj Deputy Commissioner Moniruzzaman Talukder said, "We still don't know how many people were on the launch and how many Munshiganj people died."

"I am trying to collect the list from the district administration of Dhaka, the site of the accident," he added.