Karatoya trawler capsize: Death toll rises to 43

The death toll from the trawler capsize in the Karatoya River rose to 43 as 18 more bodies were retrieved from the river in Boda Upazila of Panchagarh on Monday morning.

Of the deceased, 12 were children, 22 were women and nine were men, Mydul Islam, a mobilising officer of Rangpur Fire Service Control Room, told Business Insider Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, around 24 people remained missing in the accident, said the Fire Service Official.

Divers from six firefighting units, one from Rajshahi and five from Rangpur, are still carrying out a search in the river to recover the bodies of the missing people, he added.

One of the deceased was identified as Kabita Rani, 50. The identities of the others could not be known immediately.

On Sunday, the trawler carrying 60-70 passengers, including women and children, sank in the middle of the river while heading towards Badheshwar Temple on the occasion of Mayalaya around 2:30 pm.

Twenty-five bodies were recovered from the river on that day while many others managed to swim ashore.

Meanwhile, President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is now in the USA, have expressed their deep shock and sorrows at the deaths of people in a boat capsize in the Korotoa River in Panchagarh.

Besides, the European Union (EU) has also conveyed its deepest condolences to the families and friends of those killed or injured in the boat tragedy on the Karatoya River.