Mother-daughter drown as speedboat capsizes near St. Martin, 8 rescued

A mother and her daughter drowned after a passenger speedboat capsized on its way from St. Martin Island to Teknaf.

The incident took place afternoon in the northern Gholarchar area of the Bay of Bengal on Monday (December 1). Eight other passengers on board were rescued alive.

The deceased were identified as Morium Akter and her infant daughter Mahima Akter, residents of East Para on St. Martin Island.

Teknaf Police Inspector Abu Zayed Md. Noor said the two were found floating in the water and taken to Teknaf Upazila Health Complex, where on duty doctors declared them dead.

According to the Coast Guard, two speedboats left St. Martin’s around 10:00am, carrying 10 passengers. One of the boats capsized after being hit by sudden waves near Gholarchar. The accompanying boat immediately rescued the remaining passengers and took them to Shahpari Island.

Local representatives said the accident may have occurred due to overloading of passengers.