36 people dead after fire breaks out aboard a packed ferry in Bangladesh
Dhaka(PTI): At least 36 people died and nearly 200 others were injured on Friday after a massive fire ripped through a packed passenger ferry on the Sugandha river in southern Bangladesh, officials said.
The fire broke out around 3:00 am (local time) on Friday in the engine room of the Barguna-bound MV Abhijan-10 launch that started a journey from Dhaka.
The authorities recovered the burnt bodies of at least 36 people after a fire broke out on a passenger launch on the Sugandha River in Jhalakathi, 250 kilometeres South of the capital Dhaka, The Dhaka Tribune reported.
The fire also left over 200 others with burn injuries. They are currently undergoing treatment at local hospitals, the report quoted the launch administration, police and fire service personnel as saying.
The death toll is likely to rise as more passengers have been injured. Rescuers have recovered 36 bodies so far from the charred launch, Jhalakathi Deputy Commissioner Zohor Ali said.
As many as 72 people have been hospitalised with injuries, according to the Fire Service control room, bdnews24.com reported.
Many passengers jumped into the river in a desperate bid to save their lives as the fire raged for about three hours. Survivors say the launch was packed with passengers.
Kamal Uddin Bhuiyan, deputy director of the Barishal Fire Service who led the response, said they suspect the fire may have started in the launch's engine room.
"After receiving the information, 15 firefighting units led by Kamal Uddin Bhuiyan, deputy director of Barishal Division Fire Service and Civil Defence went to the scene at 3:50 am and brought the fire under control at 5:20 am," said a fire service control room statement.
"The engine room of the launch suddenly caught fire around 3:00 am and spread rapidly when the vessel was near the Gabkhan Bridge," Saidur Rahman, one of the survivors, was quoted as saying by the Daily Star newspaper.
"There were around 500 passengers including children and elderly. Many of them jumped in the river and were able to swim ashore," he said.
"I caught a burning smell and came out of VIP cabin to find out that there was a fire. Me, my wife and brother-in-law then jumped in the cold water and swam to the bank," he added.
A probe will be launched to determine the cause of the fire and the amount of the resulting damage.
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Odisha woman raped twice in a day, dies after being thrown off four-storey building; 2 held
Paradip (Odisha) (PTI): A 23-year-old woman was raped twice in a day in separate places by her boyfriend and a stranger offering help and then thrown off a four-storey building, leading to her death, in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district, police said on Friday.
Police arrested both the accused and booked them under various sections of BNS for kidnapping, rape and murder.
"The incident took place on February 22 after the woman left her house with plans to elope with her boyfriend, who had asked her to come to a temple by promising to marry her. However, he took her to a secluded place, raped her and abandoned her at Rahama bus stand," Jagatsinghpur Superintendent of Police Ankit Kumar Verma told reporters.
As the victim was waiting at the bus stand, another man hailing from Jharkhand, who was heading to nearby Paradip on his motorcycle, saw the hapless woman and offered help.
He, however, took her to the roof of his rented accommodation at a place in Paradip town and raped her again, the SP said.
The accused then threw the woman from the roof of the building, leading to her death, he said, adding her body was found the next morning.
The SP said the victim's brother lodged a complaint at Paradip Model police station on February 25, alleging that his sister was raped and murdered on February 22. An unnatural death case was registered on February 23 following the recovery of the woman's body.
Earlier, in the evening of February 22, the woman's brother had lodged a missing persons case at Tirtol police station when his sister did not return home.
BJD supremo and Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Naveen Patnaik, condemned the incident and demanded justice for the woman and other victims of recent rape incidents.
"How many more innocent lives will be lost? From underage girls to differently abled young women, no one is safe. So, is the rule of law still in place in the state? The news of heinous crimes coming from Kanhari in Angul, Kuchinda in Sambalpur, and Paradip is deeply disturbing. Chaos everywhere, insecurity all around, O Mother!" he said in an X post.
"While the government delivers long-winded speeches on women's safety and law and order, the ground reality is extremely alarming. Even in broad daylight, an atmosphere of fear prevails. Despite repeated instances of such deplorable incidents, the government's failure to take any exemplary, stringent action is emboldening the criminals. The government should take proactive steps to spread awareness on women's safety and ensure the rule of law is upheld in the state," the former CM added.
