RAJBARI, June 5: A bus that plunged into the Padma River after losing control at Daulatdia Ferry Ghat in Rajbari was successfully recovered on Friday, with no fatalities reported in the incident.
According to Md. Sala Uddin, Assistant General Manager (AGM) of the Daulatdia Ghat branch of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), the recovery vessel Hamza retrieved the bus from the riverbed around noon.
The accident occurred at approximately 9:30 a.m. when an SB Super Deluxe bus traveling from Kushtia to Dhaka lost control while entering a ferry through the convention pocket of Ferry Kobori. The vehicle broke through a ramp near Pontoon No. 7 and plunged into the river.
Authorities said all passengers had been asked to disembark before the bus boarded the ferry, in compliance with local administrative directives. As a result, no passengers were on board at the time of the accident.
The driver, his assistant, and the bus supervisor were rescued immediately and taken to hospital for medical evaluation.
Dr. Shariful Islam, Residential Medical Officer of Goalanda Upazila Health Complex, said the three individuals were examined following the incident. The driver's assistant received primary treatment, and all of them are now out of danger.
Following the accident, BIWTA deployed the recovery vessel Hamza along with a team of divers to conduct a rescue and recovery operation. After several hours of effort, the empty bus was successfully lifted from the river.
The incident has revived memories of a tragic accident at the same ferry terminal on March 25, when a bus operated by Souhardya Paribahan fell into the river while boarding a ferry from Kumarkhali, Kushtia, to Dhaka. That accident claimed 26 lives and raised concerns over safety measures at the busy ferry crossing.
