The salvage operation for the half-submerged Ro-Ro ferry, which went down with several vehicles on the Padma River in Manikganj, is underway for a third day.
Although salvage vessel Hamza started the operation at 7:30am on Friday, the rescuers could not recover any vehicle till the filing of this report at 12:30pm.
Moreover, there was no activity to salvage the sunken ferry ‘Amanat Shah’, which tilted onto its side on Wednesday as it docked at the Paturia terminal.
Another salvage vessel Rustam would come from Shimulia instead of Pratyay to take part in the operation. It is likely to arrive by the afternoon, said Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) Chairman Golam Sadiq.
However, there are doubts over the salvage operation as the weight of the ferry is beyond the capacity of government-level salvage vessels. In that case, the assistance of a private salvage vessel will be taken, he added.
Loaded with at least 17 heavy vehicles -- mostly trucks -- and more than a dozen motorcycles, the ferry tilted on its side on Wednesday morning and sank soon after it docked at Terminal No 5.
It was on its way to Aricha from Rajbari’s Daulatdia ghat when it sank at Paturia. Only three vehicles had gotten off when the vessel capsized, witnesses said.
Most of the passengers managed to swim to shore and no casualties have been reported yet.
