Hope fading for \\\'Pinak-6\\\'

The hopes of salvaging 'Pinak-6' are getting thinner by the hour. The overloaded launch that overturned in Padma River in Munshiganj on Monday morning with about 350 on board has not been found in 48 hours, even after rescue vessels Rustam and Nirvik have reached the spot. A total of 15 watercraft including ships, tugboats and speedboats are now looking for ‘Pinak 6’, the medium-sized double-decker which was carrying more than 3 times its capacity when it capsized at 11:30am on Monday at Mawa Turning Point in Padma near Mawa Launch Ghat. Despite heavy monsoon currents, Fire Service and Civil Defence is trying to locate the launch by the traditional method of dragging anchors, while 27 of their divers are in the water constantly. Navy, RAB and police helicopters are scouring the river from the sky. On Tuesday night several vessels launched a combined search operation called ‘ladder scanner search’. After 3 hours of search, Navy Captain Nazrul Islam said the vessels had searched the area in a 36 km radius from the place where the launch sank. The captain thinks the launch may be gathering silt since it is small and made mostly of wood. On Monday and Tuesday, three bodies were recovered. Around 100 passengers were rescued alive by speedboats that rushed to the sinking vessel. According to a list made by Lauhajang Police Station based on missing reports by families, there are 169 passengers still unaccounted-for, according to a news agency.