A tourist has gone missing after being swept away by strong waves and currents while bathing in the sea at Alorkol beach near Dublar Char in the Sundarbans. No trace of the missing man, identified as Md Riyaz Ahmed, 28, had been found by Saturday, November 7, the second day of the search.
Riyaz is the son of Abul Bashar Dhali of Kathali West Para in Bhaluka Municipality, Mymensingh. He went missing around noon on Friday, November 6, while bathing at the beach.
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According to the Forest Department, Riyaz was among 19 tourists visiting the Sundarbans aboard a small wooden tourist launch named Sundarban Ecotourism-2. The vessel entered the Sundarbans through the Mandarbari waterway on Thursday, November 5, after obtaining a three-day travel permit from the Kadamtali Station under the Satkhira Range.
After visiting several locations, the launch reached Alorkol near Dublar Char around noon on Friday. The tourists then travelled to the shore by trawler. Several of them went swimming in the sea, when Riyaz was swept away by strong waves and currents.
Immediately after the incident, fishermen from the Alorkol dry-fish settlement began searching the sea using trawlers. Coast Guard and Forest Department personnel later joined the rescue operation. However, strong waves and darkness hampered the search at night.
Motashim Farazi, president of the Rampal Fishermen’s Association at Alorkol dry-fish settlement, and its general secretary Md Jakir Sheikh said a tourist launch arriving from the Nilkamal direction anchored in the sea near Alorkol. The tourists then travelled to the shore by trawler.
Three tourists went swimming in the sea. At one point, while enjoying the waves, one of them was swept away. Fishermen noticed the incident and immediately launched a search using their trawlers, but they could not rescue him.
Lieutenant Md Abul Kashem, media officer of the Coast Guard’s West Zone, said a Coast Guard patrol team was dispatched to the spot immediately after receiving news of the disappearance. The search operation is continuing.
Md Khalilur Rahman, forest ranger and in-charge of the Dublar Fishermen’s Settlement patrol outpost under the Sundarbans Division, said Forest Department personnel were also conducting patrols and searches in different areas alongside the Coast Guard. However, the missing tourist had not yet been found.
