Firefighters Rescue Four Students Stranded by Flash Floods at Sitakunda Waterfall
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Four university students were rescued by firefighters on Saturday evening after becoming trapped by flash floods near the Suptadhara Waterfall in the Sitakunda Botanical Garden and Ecopark. The group, all students from the private Southern University in Chittagong, had ventured into the hilly terrain when heavy rainfall triggered sudden, dangerous water surges.
According to a report by Prothom Alo, the rescue operation was launched after the students contacted the 999 national emergency service. The four individuals—identified as Md. Akil, Arafat-ul Islam, Md. Abrar Fahim, and another student named Arafat-ul Islam—were found stranded on the opposite side of a mountain stream about three kilometers east of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.
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Fire Service station leader Machindra Lal Tripura stated that emergency teams encountered significant obstacles due to the torrential rain, which rendered the ecopark’s access roads impassable for vehicles. Rescuers were forced to trek on foot for 40 minutes through the rugged landscape to reach the site. Once there, they deployed ropes secured to nearby trees to safely navigate the students across the turbulent, rising waters. The operation concluded at approximately 8:30 p.m.
While the Forest Department’s Baraiyadhala Range has implemented entry restrictions for waterfalls within its jurisdiction—most of which are located in the Mirsharai sub-district—similar bans are currently not in effect for the Sitakunda area. Local officials noted that the absence of formal restrictions in Sitakunda has encouraged tourists to frequent the waterfalls despite unpredictable weather, raising urgent concerns regarding visitor safety and the potential for future accidents.
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