Bodies of two missing tourists recovered from Karnaphuli River after 42hrs

The bodies of two missing tourists were recovered 42 hours after they went missing in the Karnaphuli River near the Sitaghat temple in Kaptai, Rangamati.

The victims are Shaon Dutt, 16, a ninth-grade student at Railway Public School and a resident of Sadarghat Nalapara in Chittagong, and his cousin, Priyant Das.

According to Md Sarwar, the UP member of Shilchari Ward No. 9, the bodies were spotted floating in the river around 7:30am on Thursday.

“After being informed by the family members, I immediately contacted the Kaptai Upazila Nirbahi Officer,” he said. The Kaptai fire service team recovered the bodies around 8:05am.

Local farmer Enamul Haque Bachchu shared that the bodies appeared in the same area where the two tourists had gone missing while bathing around 1:30pm on Tuesday.

Shahadat Hossain, the senior station officer of Kaptai Fire Service, said: “A team of eight, led by our leader Kazi Nazrul Islam, recovered the bodies after receiving information from the upazila authorities.”

Chandraghona police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Shahjahan Kamal said that police visited the scene and will take legal action as required.

The tourists went missing while bathing in the Karnaphuli River near the Sri Sri Mata Sita Devi Temple in Chitmaram Union No. 3, Kaptai Upazila. The incident occurred in the Sitaghat area on Tuesday afternoon.

Following the incident, Kaptai Fire Service, Kaptai Navy’s diving team, police, local representatives, and residents conducted an extensive search operation. Despite their efforts, the bodies were not located until Thursday morning.