Death Toll in Cox's Bazar Beach Drowning Rises to 4, One Student Still Missing
The body of another tourist, Md Harun, 20, who went missing while bathing at Cox's Bazar sea beach, has been recovered. His body was found at the Pechardwip beach in Himchhari, Ramu upazila, around 10 am on Thursday (22 October). With this, the death toll in the incident has risen to four. One person is still missing.
Dolon Acharya, station officer of the Cox's Bazar Fire Service station, confirmed in the morning that a body had washed ashore. Sub-Inspector Solaiman Hossain of the Himchhari police outpost said the four recovered bodies have been kept at the Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital morgue.
They were swept away while bathing around 5 pm on Wednesday at the beach adjacent to the museum of Himchhari Marina Resort on Marine Drive, 18 kilometres from Cox's Bazar town. Police and beach workers said three university students had come from Dhaka to Cox's Bazar beach on Wednesday with friends during a long holiday. They went under while bathing in the sea.
Two bodies were recovered immediately after the incident. One is still missing. Two others from Chattogram, who had come with friends on a trip, also died in the same incident.
The dead are university students Al Mahibur Ibne Mokarram, 24, and Saibul Haque Zisan, 23, and Chattogram factory workers Mohammad Akash, 21, and Md Harun, 20. The missing student is S.M. Nafisur Rahman Nibir, 23. In addition, Rakib Hasan, 19, who was rescued in critical condition, is admitted to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital.
Fire service, police and lifeguard personnel are conducting a search operation for the missing student. The search at sea continues.
Mahbub Alam, supervisor of the district administration's beach workers responsible for tourist safety on the beach, said the seven friends set out from Uttara, Dhaka, for Bandarban on 18 October. After two days of travel there, they reached Cox's Bazar around 11:30 am on Wednesday and checked into a resort adjacent to the Pechardwip museum in Himchhari.
He said the seven friends went bathing in the sea around 4 pm after lunch. None of them knew how to swim. Three or four other people were bathing in the area at the time. When two of them were seen drowning, the seven friends went to rescue them. At one point, they too were caught in the sea current and began drifting away. Local people then came forward to rescue them.
Quoting the relatives of the deceased, SI Solaiman Hossain of the Himchhari police outpost said Saibul Haque Zisan was a student of the Computer Science and Engineering department of the Islamic University of Technology (IUT). Al Mahibur Ibne Mokarram was the son of Mokarram Hossain of Diabari, Uttara, Dhaka, and a BBA student of Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP).
The missing S.M. Nafisur Rahman Nibir is the son of Nabibur Rahman of Azimpur, Dhaka, and a third-year student of the Computer Science and Engineering department of North South University. His aunt Shamima Sultana said family members set out for Cox's Bazar after learning of Nibir's accident.
Mohammad Sani, a friend who came on the trip with the deceased Akash, said they work at a factory in Chattogram. Five friends came to Cox's Bazar on Wednesday for a trip and went bathing in the sea in the afternoon. They were in knee-deep water when a sudden big wave crashed over them. They were being swept away by the current and called to the seven nearby for help. Those who came forward also began to drown.
Describing the incident, Sani said everyone was floundering at the time. The sand was shifting from under their feet. Somehow five or six of them made it ashore. They rescued three or four with the help of locals, and two were swept away.
Earlier, nine people died this year while bathing at Cox's Bazar sea beach, and one tourist remains missing. There is no lifeguard service anywhere on the beach except a three-kilometre stretch at Laboni, Sugandha and Kolatoli in Cox's Bazar town.
Beach workers say bathing on beach stretches without lifeguard service is extremely risky. For those who cannot swim, entering an unguarded beach is a mortal danger. None of the seven friends in this incident knew how to swim.
After the incident, tourists have been barred from entering the unguarded sections of Cox's Bazar beach. The district administration has warned tourists not to enter the sea except on beaches with lifeguard service.
The rescue operation for the missing student Nibir continues. His family members have reached Cox's Bazar. Fire service, police and lifeguard personnel are jointly carrying out the search.
