Jhalakathi tanker explosion: One body recovered, 3 still missing
The Bangladesh Coast Guard has recovered the body of a crew member of an oil tanker that exploded on the River Sugandha in Jhalakathi on Saturday.
The deceased, identified as Abdus Salam aka Hridoy (26), went missing along with three other crew members of Sagar Nandini-2 after the explosion.
The other missing crew members- Supervisor Masudur Rahman (48), Driver Ruhul Amin (55) and Akram Hossain (40) - are yet to be found. Rescue teams are conducting operations to find them.
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The body of Salam, who used to work as an oiler at the tanker, was recovered at around 2.30pm on Sunday, Jhalakathi Sadar Police Station Superintendent (SI) Md Nazrul Islam said
The deceased is the son of the late Ramzan Mia of Samujdipur village at Madhapur in Habiganj, SI Nazrul said citing family members of the victim.
The explosion at Sagar Nandini-2, which was carrying some 11 lakh litres of fuel oil, took place after its engine room was caught in a fire. The oil was unspoiled despite the explosion.
Meanwhile, two ships of Bangladesh Coast Guard and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) have been deployed to remove the oil from the tanker. Till Sunday morning, some 6 lakh litres of oil had been transferred to another vessel named OT Mridula, helping the immersed oil tanker to float up slightly.
According to police officials, there were nine crew members on board and five of them were rescued with burn wounds.
Sagar Nandin-2 arrived with fuel for Padma Oil Company from Chattogram and anchored in the area adjacent to the Sugandha Nadi oil depot in Jhalakathi. But as the depot was closed during the Eid-ul-Azha holiday, it was not possible to unload the oil.
Eyewitnesses reported that a sudden explosion occurred in the engine room of the tanker, which was followed by a fierce fire that engulfed the vessel.
Firefighters swiftly responded to the scene and managed to bring the blaze under control. The cause of the fire is yet to be confirmed.
