Tourist Riaz Goes Missing While Bathing at Alorkol Beach in the Sundarbans as Rescue Operation Continues

A tourist named Riaz Dhali has gone missing after being swept away by waves while bathing at Alorkol sea beach on Dublar Char in the Sundarbans. The incident took place on Friday afternoon at the beach beside the Alorkol dried-fish village in the Sharankhola range of the eastern Sundarbans.

The missing tourist, Riaz, is from Bhaluka upazila in Mymensingh. He had travelled to Dublar Char on a tourist launch.

According to sources, a tourist launch named Ecotourism carrying 20 to 22 tourists reached Alorkol at around 3 pm on Friday after visiting Hiron Point and Neelkamal. The tourists then travelled by trawler to Alorkol char.

Three of the tourists went into the sea to bathe and swim. At one point, Riaz was swept away by strong waves and current and went missing.

Realising what had happened, local fishermen quickly began searching the sea with trawlers. Coast Guard and Forest Department personnel later joined the rescue operation.

After receiving news of the disappearance, the Coast Guard, the Forest Department and local fishermen began the rescue operation. But there was no trace of him until late at night.

Motasim Farazi, president of the Rampal fishermen association of the Alorkol dried-fish village, and its general secretary Md. Zakir Sheikh said the tourist launch from the Neelkamal area anchored in the sea near Alorkol, and the tourists then came to the char by trawler. Three of them went swimming, and one was carried away into the sea by powerful waves. Fishermen launched a rescue effort after hearing the news but could not find him.

Lieutenant Md. Abul Kashem, media officer of the Coast Guard West Zone, said a Coast Guard patrol team was sent to the spot as soon as the news of the missing tourist was received. The operation to rescue him is under way, but the rough sea waves and the darkness of night are making the rescue work somewhat difficult.

Md. Hasanur Rahman, Divisional Forest Officer of the Khulna region of the Sundarbans West Division, said two tourist launches left the Burigoalini Forest Station of the Satkhira range on Friday morning with permission and went to Dublar Char. The two launches carried a total of 30 tourists. He said he had received news that one of them had gone missing in the sea, but it could not be confirmed which launch the missing tourist was travelling on.

The Coast Guard and the Forest Department are conducting a joint rescue operation. The search continued late into the night, but the missing tourist had still not been found.