Wedding celebration turns tragic as boat capsizes in Netrokona; four missing

A wedding celebration in Khaliajuri upazila of Netrokona took a tragic turn this afternoon when a speedboat carrying members of the groom's family capsized in the Dhanu river, leaving four people missing -- three of them children.

The accident occurred in the Panchhat Charpara area under Gazipur union, police said. The missing have been identified as Shirin Akter, 18, Laila, 7, Usha Moni, 5, and Samia, 11.

According to Mokbul Hossain, officer-in-charge of Khaliajuri Police Station, the boat was one of several hired to ferry guests for the wedding of Rana Mia, son of Nawab Mia from Andhair village. Before the main procession began, around 15 relatives boarded a speedboat for a short river trip.

While trying to swerve away from a bulkhead in mid-river, the boat collided with another vessel and sank. Most of the passengers managed to swim to shore, but four remain missing.

Md Hafizur Rahman, deputy assistant director of Netrokona Fire Service, said a rescue team from Madan Fire Station rushed to the scene. Despite hours of searching, no trace of the missing passengers was found by 7:30 pm.

The operation had to be suspended due to darkness and will resume tomorrow morning, Rahman said.