Nor'wester lashes country, one dead, three missing in Ctg

A 12-year-old girl has died and three of her siblings have gone missing after a speedboat with around 20 passengers sank in the Bay of Bengal in Chattogram's Sandwip upazila during the first Nor'wester of the season. 

The nor'wester accompanied by rain and gusty wind swept over different parts of the country besides Chattogram, including the capital Dhaka, early Wednesday.

The seasonal storm uprooted many trees in the capital – blocking some roads in the capital city, including Gulshan Link Road and the Banani area. 

"Many trees were uprooted and blocked the Gulshan-Badda Link Road due to the Kalbaishakhi storm," wrote a city dweller about his suffering on Facebook.

In Chattogram, a girl – Nusrat Jahan Anika, daughter of Md Alauddin, from Mogdhora area in Sandwip – was rescued and sent to a hospital in Sandwip where duty doctors declared her dead on arrival.  

Three more siblings of the deceased – Adifa, Aliva and Saikat – are still missing after the speedboat sank. 

Sandwip Upazila Nirbahi Officer Samrat Khisha told The Business Standard, "Anika lost her life, and three passengers of the speedboat that sank with 20 passengers are still missing. Anika's body has been kept at the local Sandwip hospital." 

Saleh Noman, a local journalist, told The Business Standard: the accident occurred because the speedboat was unfit, the drivers incompetent, and the negligence of ghat authorities. In most cases, life jackets are not provided to passengers. 

However, Md Anwar, leaseholder of Guptachhara Ghat, claimed they provide life jackets but in most cases, passengers do not use them.

In a separate incident, five people were rescued after a sand-laden bulkhead sank in the outer anchorage of Chattogram port during the nor'wester. 

The five crew members jumped off the bulkhead as it was sinking off the coast and boatmen sailing in the area rescued them. 

The Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) issued a warning to ships operating through the accident spot as the location of the sunken bulkhead is in the navigation area of the port, making it a barrier to safe navigation for all types of vessels.

The CPA has also sent a letter to bulkhead owner Md Mansur, asking him to remove the sunken vessel within 48 hours. Otherwise, the authority will take legal steps. 

Bulkhead owner Md Mansur is not available to make any comment in this regard. 

According to the Meteorological Department, it started raining in the capital city from 6am and the wind speed was 60 kilometres per hour during the storm.

"Heavy rain accompanied by lightning started just before 7am. Rainfall of 44mm was recorded in the capital in the early hours of Wednesday," said meteorologist Mohammad Abul Kalam.  

"At the time, the wind speed in the capital's Agargaon area was 55 kilometres per hour and 60 kilometres per hour in the airport area," he added. 

According to a Met Office forecast, rain and thundershowers with intense lightning flashes accompanied by temporary gusty and squally wind are likely to occur at a few places in Rangpur, Mymensingh, and Sylhet divisions and in one or two places of Rajshahi, Dhaka, Khulna and Chattogram divisions with isolated hail in places.

The nor'wester swept across different parts of Cumilla, Noakhali, Rangamati and Tangail districts.