People and Culture
Five children drown in separate incidents in Jamalpur and Bhola
At least five children have drowned in two separate incidents in Jamalpur and Bhola districts, while two others remain missing.
In Jamalpur’s Madarganj upazila, three children drowned while bathing in the Jhinei River on Friday afternoon in the Char Bhattiani Amtola area under Sidhuli Union. The deceased were identified as Pori Akter (12) and Abu Hasan (8), children of expatriate Dudu Mia, and Sabera Akter (8), daughter of Nur Islam. Two other children, Kulsum and Boishakhi (12), are still missing.
According to police, a group of children went to bathe in the river after playing football. Local residents and fire service divers later joined the rescue operation. By evening, three bodies had been recovered, but two children remained missing.
Fire Service leader Rafiqul Islam said the search operation was halted at night and would resume on Saturday morning.
In a separate incident in Lalmohan upazila of Bhola district, two cousins drowned in a pond on Thursday morning in the Ashuli area of Farajganj Union. The victims were Samira (7) and Sanjida Akter (8), daughters of Alauddin and Mosleh Uddin.
Police said the girls went to bathe in the pond after returning from their madrasa. When they did not return for a long time, relatives found their clothes by the pond and later recovered their bodies. They were declared dead at the local health complex.
Lalmohan Police Officer-in-Charge Sirajul Islam said an unnatural death case has been filed and the bodies were handed over to the families.
Two people, including a van driver, were killed after a passenger bus struck a van in Chuadanga Sadar’s Alokdia Bazar on Sunday afternoon. Two others were injured, with both critically wounded victims transferred to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
The deceased were identified as Parveen Akhter, 45, of Monirampur village in Alokdia Union, and van driver Ramzan Ali, 26, who later died on the way to the hospital. The injured—Israt from Rajapur and Shabdul from Jhenaidah’s Kotchandpur—remain under treatment.
According to police, the bus was travelling from Chuadanga to Meherpur when it rammed into the van from behind at Alokdia Bazar. One of the van passengers died on the spot. Rescue teams transported the injured to Chuadanga Sadar Hospital, from where two were referred to Rajshahi due to their critical condition.
Additional Police Superintendent Mostafizur Rahman said legal procedures are underway and the bodies will be handed over to the families. The bus driver fled the scene after the accident.
At least 10 people were injured in a clash between two groups over a wedding invitation dispute in Bakri village under Jhenaidah Sadar upazila. The incident took place on Saturday morning (22 November), according to police.
Locals and police said tension began after Rafiqul Islam failed to invite his neighbour, Shahin Uddin, to his daughter’s wedding held on Friday. The following morning, Shahin and his associates allegedly attacked Rafiqul’s house, triggering a violent confrontation. Both groups reportedly used improvised weapons, leaving at least 10 people injured.
Police arrived at the scene and brought the situation under control. The injured were taken to Jhenaidah Sadar Hospital for treatment. Authorities have deployed additional police in the area as tensions remain high, said Sadar Police Station OC Abdullah Al Mamun.
A strong earthquake jolted Dhaka and several parts of Bangladesh on Friday morning, leaving five people dead nationwide, including four in the capital. The tremor, measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale, was felt at 10:39 am (21 November) across Bangladesh as well as parts of India.
Widespread panic followed the quake, with many fearing a stronger one might occur. Experts say the epicenter was close to Dhaka, causing the shaking to feel unusually intense. According to Md Mominul Islam, Director at the Meteorological Department, the outcome could have been catastrophic had the tremor lasted another 5 to 7 seconds.
The Met Office categorizes Bangladesh into three seismic risk zones. Districts in Sylhet, Mymensingh, Kishoreganj, Brahmanbaria, parts of Tangail, Gazipur and Narsingdi, along with the hilly districts of Khagrachhari and Rangamati, fall under the highest risk zone. In contrast, Khulna, Jessore, Barishal and Patuakhali are considered low-risk regions.
Urban authorities have identified around 2.1 million buildings in Dhaka as vulnerable. A joint JICA and Disaster Management Programme survey warns that a quake of magnitude 7 or higher could destroy up to 72,000 buildings and damage another 135,000 in the capital, creating nearly 70 million tons of debris.
Experts attribute Bangladesh’s seismic vulnerability to its position along multiple active fault lines, including the Indian and Eurasian plate boundaries and the Dauki, Madhupur, and Sagaing faults.
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