Tourist missing after bathing at Dublar Char in the Sundarbans, rescue operation continues into night

A tourist has gone missing after going to bathe at the sea beach at Dublar Char in the Sundarbans. On Friday (6 November) afternoon he was swept away by strong waves and currents in the sea near the Alorkol dried-fish village.

The missing tourist's name and identity have not yet been confirmed.

On receiving the news, local fishermen, Coast Guard and Forest Department members began a rescue operation. No trace of him had been found until 9:45 pm. The rescue effort is being hampered by heavy waves at sea and the onset of darkness.

Coast Guard and Forest Department sources said that at around 3 pm on Friday a tourist launch named 'Ecotourism' carrying 20 tourists reached Alorkol after visiting Hiran Point and Nilkamal areas of the Sundarbans. The tourists were then taken by trawler from the launch to Alorkol Char.

There, three tourists went down to bathe at the sea beach. They were swimming with the waves. At one point one of them was pulled under by the strong waves and current and disappeared into the sea within moments.

Seeing the incident, fishermen of Alorkol dried-fish village quickly began searching the sea by trawler. Later Coast Guard and Forest Department members also joined the rescue operation on receiving the news. Despite trying for a long time, the missing tourist was not found.

Motasim Farazi, president of the Rampal fishermen's association of Alorkol dried-fish village, and its general secretary Md Zakir Sheikh said three tourists had gone down to bathe in the sea. When one of them was swept away by the waves, the fishermen quickly began a rescue operation, but he was not found.

Coast Guard West Zone media officer Lieutenant Md Abul Kashem said a Coast Guard patrol team was sent to the spot immediately after the news was received and the operation to rescue the missing tourist is continuing.

Md Hasanur Rahman, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Khulna range of Sundarbans West Division, said two tourist launches went to Dublar Char on Friday morning after taking passes from Burigoalini Forest Station. The two launches carried 30 tourists in total. However, it could not be confirmed which launch the missing person was a passenger of.

Khalilur Rahman, forest ranger in charge of the Forest Department's Dubla fishermen's village, said the tourists informed the missing incident by calling the national emergency service number 999. The Coast Guard and Forest Department then jointly began the rescue operation. No trace of the missing tourist had been found until 9:45 pm.