Eight Passengers Rescued After Speedboat Runs Out of Fuel During Illegal Sea Crossing from Sandwip to Chittagong
Photo Collected
Eight passengers narrowly escaped death after their speedboat ran out of fuel and drifted for four hours in the turbulent Bay of Bengal on Saturday. The incident occurred despite a formal ban on vessel movement issued by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) due to adverse weather and cautionary signals at sea.
The speedboat, which departed from Guptachhara Ghat in Sandwip bound for Kumira, stalled shortly after leaving the shore when the fuel supply was exhausted. Stranded in the middle of the rough sea, the vessel was tossed by high waves before drifting into a coastal mangrove forest in the Bhaterkhil area of Sitakunda. The passengers, who had hired the ten-seat vessel for 3,200 taka to reach Chittagong for urgent matters, reported that they had abandoned all hope of survival as the boat pitched violently in the swells.
One of the passengers, 28-year-old Nur Hossain, described the ordeal as a life-threatening experience. He noted that the pilot and his assistant only disclosed the lack of fuel after the engine failed. According to Hossain, the boat was carried to safety by a rising tide; had the tide been ebbing, they likely would have been pulled further into the deep ocean. The passengers eventually trekked through the dense mangrove forest until they reached a local embankment, later arriving at the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway via an autorickshaw.
Preliminary investigations indicate the speedboat is owned by Abul Kashem, also known as Raja Kashem, a former contractor for the Kumira-Guptachhara route. Reports suggest the vessel was operating from the Bashbaria Ghat at the time of the incident, despite having no authorization to depart from Sandwip. Repeated attempts to reach Kashem for comment were unsuccessful, as he disconnected phone calls regarding the incident.
BIWTA Port Officer Nayan Sheel confirmed that an investigation is underway regarding the breach of maritime safety protocols. He stated that operating a vessel without adequate fuel constitutes gross negligence, and that the owner and pilot will face strict legal action, which may include the cancellation of the vessel’s route permit. BIWTA regulations prohibit all boat traffic when the Meteorological Department issues warning signals of level three or higher. Authorities are currently verifying whether the pilot possessed the necessary license and valid route permits.
0%
0%
0%
0%
