15 missing as boat sinks in Padma

At least 15 people went missing as an engine-powered boat capsized in Padma River in Daulatpur upazila in Kushtia district on Tuesday afternoon. Locals said a group of 15 people hired the wooden-made boat to go to a shoal (small char land) that emerged recently into the middle of the river from Bairagirchar on the Eid day. As the boat started for the shoal around 3:00pm, it was caught in a violent storm, and sank. All the 15 boat passengers, mostly women and children, went missing. Daulat police and a team from the district Fire Service and Civil Defence station started for the spot to conduct the rescue operation. Daulatpur UNO Shamimul Islam Parvez visited the spot, according to a news agency.