Schoolgirl’s Body Found After 33-Hour Search in Payra River

The body of a 15-year-old schoolgirl who went missing while bathing in the Payra River in Barguna was recovered after nearly 33 hours of searching, bringing a tragic end to an extensive rescue operation.

The body of Jui, a Class 10 student from Mirpur in Dhaka, was spotted by local residents at around 6pm on Monday, 17 August, along the bank of the Payra River in the Joyalbhanga Nalbunia area of Taltali upazila. The site was near a thermal power plant.

Jui had gone missing at about 9am on Sunday while bathing in the river near Latakata Ferry Ghat in Ward 9 of M Baliatali Union under Barguna Sadar upazila. She had travelled from Dhaka with her father to visit relatives in the area.

According to local residents, Jui was staying at the home of her maternal grandfather, Shanu Mridha, in Latakata. She later went to the nearby Payra River to bathe with a relative. At one point, she was swept away by the strong current and disappeared beneath the water.

Local people initially began searching for her themselves, using fishing nets and checking sections of the river close to where she was last seen. Their efforts, however, failed to locate her.

After being informed of the incident, members of the Barguna Fire Service, including divers, joined the search. Police from Barguna Sadar Police Station also took part in the operation. Search teams spent hours checking different sections of the river, but there was no immediate sign of the missing girl.

The search continued into Monday. At approximately 6pm, local people noticed a body floating near the riverbank in the Joyalbhanga Nalbunia area of Taltali. They alerted the authorities, who arrived at the scene and recovered the body with assistance from local residents.

The discovery came around 33 hours after Jui had disappeared. Her death left relatives and family members devastated, with the news casting a sombre atmosphere over the surrounding area.

Jui’s family home is in Norha village of Nasirnagar upazila in Brahmanbaria district, although she lived in the capital’s Mirpur with her family.

Barguna Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Hasnain Parvez said police went to the location after receiving information about the body and recovered it with the help of local residents. He added that the necessary legal procedures were under way.

The incident has once again highlighted the dangers posed by strong river currents during bathing. In this case, the initial search involved local residents before professional rescuers and divers joined the operation, with teams continuing to look for Jui across different parts of the river until her body was eventually found downstream.