A fire has occurred in the engine room of MV Karnaphuli-3 launch from Bhola bound for Dhaka. Many of the passengers jumped into the river in panic.

The incident took place near Chandpur Neelkamal Char around 11 o’clock on Saturday. Later, the Karnaphuli-14 launch rushed to their rescue.

Launch Manager. Jasim said, the launch left Ilishaghat in Bhola with 500 passengers at 8:30 am. The fire broke out in the engine room of the launch near Chandpur Neelkamal Char. Panic spread among the passengers. Many of the passengers jumped into the river. Later passengers were dropped at Char.

Deputy Commissioner Arifuzzaman said that there was a fire in the engine room. Along with the launch staff, the Coast Guard and Naval Police started working to control the fire and rescue the passengers. The other two launches on that route, MV Samada and MV Karnaphuli-14, rescued the passengers safely. No casualties were reported. However, some passengers were injured while disembarking in a hurry.