Woman missing after boat capsizes in Jamuna river, 9 rescued alive

A woman labourer went missing after a passenger boat carrying farm workers capsized in the Jamuna River during a storm in Bogura’s Dhunat upazila on Thursday (May 21). Nine others were rescued alive, officials said.

The accident occurred in the Baniajan area under Bhandarbari union at around 10:00am when the boat was returning from the newly emerged Shanbandha char, where the women had gone for seasonal corn and peanut harvesting work.

According to local sources, the workers decided to return home without starting work after storm clouds gathered in the sky. However, the boat was caught in sudden rough weather and sank mid-river near Baniajan.

Locals later rescued nine women from the downstream Baroitoli Ghat area, nearly one kilometre from the accident site.

The missing woman was identified as Angari Khatun, a resident of the Guccha village area in Goshaibari. Her husband Lal Mia said his wife was among the passengers on the boat and remains untraced.

One of the survivors, Hajera Begum, said she managed to swim nearly a kilometre downstream before reaching the riverbank safely.

Dhunat Upazila Nirbahi Officer Arif Ullah Nizami said a Fire Service diving team has launched a rescue operation to locate the missing woman.