A family gathering in Shibpur upazila, Narsingdi, turned into tragedy when three people drowned in the Shitalakhya River, leaving a teenager still missing. Fire Service divers recovered three bodies from the river in the Charlakhpur area on Saturday morning at around 10:30 am, following an extensive rescue effort.
The deceased have been identified as 35-year-old Obaidullah, the son-in-law of local resident Mojibur Sheikh; Mojibur’s youngest daughter, 22-year-old Shanta; and 15-year-old Sourav, a neighbour. Emergency teams continue to search for Mojibur’s 17-year-old grandson, Shanta, who remains missing in the water.
According to local residents and the Shibpur Fire Service, Obaidullah, accompanied by his wife Shahinur and their children, had arrived at his father-in-law’s home in Charlakhpur for a family visit. Mojibur Sheikh’s two other daughters, Shahida and Shanta, had also gathered at the residence with their respective children.
The incident unfolded at approximately 3:00 pm on Friday, when Shanta went down to the adjacent Shitalakhya River to bathe. Strong currents swept her away from the bank. Noticing her distress, Obaidullah and her nephew Shanta leapt into the water in a desperate attempt to rescue her, only to be overwhelmed by the currents themselves. Seeing the group vanish beneath the surface, several neighbours, including 15-year-old Sourav, entered the river to help, but Sourav was also pulled under.
Local authorities and the Shibpur Fire Service were alerted at around 6:00 pm on Friday and initiated an immediate search. Falling darkness forced rescuers to suspend operations overnight without locating any of the victims. A specialist diving team from Dhaka joined local teams on Saturday morning to resume the search. By 10:30 am, divers retrieved the bodies of Sourav, Obaidullah, and Shanta.
Local Union Parishad member Nasir Uddin Howlader confirmed the tragedy, describing how a festive family reunion disintegrated into mourning after four individuals vanished into the river one after another.
Shibpur Fire Service Team Leader Islam Khan stated that search operations were launched immediately upon receiving news of the incident on Friday evening. He added that the joint operation involving the specialist diving unit from Dhaka successfully recovered three bodies, while search teams remain active on the river to locate the missing teenager.
