The New Nation - Internet Edition

Relatives and on-lookers wait anxiously on the bank
of the waterbody at Kalshi in Mirpur as search for missing
students go on. Four girls and a boy, students of MDC
Institute, drowned in a boat capsize while on a joy ride.
FocusBangla

UNB, Dhaka

Five school students, four of them girls, were drowned during boating for fun in Beguntila Jhil in Mirpur area of the city yesterday.

Witnesses and police said nine students, including six girl students, of class IX and X of MDC Model Institute at Mirpur-12 under Pallabi police station went to the flooded water-body for boat journey after visiting the house of one of their friends, Ajanta, in Block-D of Mirpur-12 area.

"As the students were enjoying the journey by dancing and singing, the boat capsized in the jhil near Madhumati Matsya Khamar about 12 noon," says a spot account of the tragic ferry accident that drowned the mirth of fun into the mourning of funeral.

The five dead were identified as Jyoti, 15, Shoshi, 16, Brishti, 15, Khoki, 14, and male-student Nipu who studied in class X of the school.

Ajanta, 16, Iva, 15, Ratul, 16, Mridul, 16, and Arif, 21, managed to swim to the jhil bank.

Arif used to study at Dhaka Commerce Collage, Officer-in-Charge of Pallabi thana Abdul Momen told UNB in the afternoon by phone.

On information, rescue teams of firefighters rushed to the spot and recovered the five bodies from the jhil waters with the help of locals.

Haroon, the boatman, told reporters that the accident occurred as the students started merrymaking "desperately" dancing, ignoring his repeated request.