Staff Correspondent

A major maritime disaster was averted in the early hours of Tuesday when the Bangladesh Coast Guard successfully rescued the crew of a lighter vessel that sank in the Karnaphuli River channel following a violent head-on collision with another ship. All 12 crew members of the sunken vessel survived the harrowing ordeal.

The incident occurred at around 3:00 AM near Ghat No. 18 under Patenga Police Station in Chattogram. According to Coast Guard sources, the Dhaka-bound lighter vessel, MV Bay Harbor-2, collided head-on with another navigating lighter vessel, MV Samuda-6. The impact severely damaged the hull of MV Bay Harbor-2, causing water to rapidly flood the vessel. Despite trying to steer the listing ship to safety, it tilted heavily and sank almost entirely in the deep water between outer anchorage buoys 2 and 3.

Upon receiving the distress signal, a specialized search and rescue team from the Patenga Coast Guard Outpost under the East Zone was immediately deployed to the site. The rescuers managed to swiftly pull eight crew members out of the water from the sinking vessel. The remaining four crew members were swept away towards Parkir Char by the river's exceptionally strong currents, but they fortunately managed to swim safely ashore.

Confirming the operation, Coast Guard Media Officer Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Sujon stated that all 12 crew members are safe and accounted for. The rescued sailors were instantly provided with primary medical treatment, food, and other necessary emergency assistance. The process of formally handing them over to the respective ship authorities is currently underway.

The Coast Guard remains dedicated to its core mission of ensuring safety across the country's vast maritime and coastal boundaries, promising to maintain maximum alert for such emergency humanitarian rescue operations in the future, the press release added.