A US expatriate woman went missing after a tourist boat capsized in the Pashur River near the Sundarbans in Mongla upazila of Bagerhat district on Saturday morning.
According to media reports, the incident occurred around 11:30 AM when a tourist boat carrying 13 people overturned due to strong waves at the confluence of Dhangmari Canal and the Pashur River.
The victim has been identified as Riana Abzal, 28, a former pilot of Bangladesh Air Force who later moved to the US.
According to police, the tourists had spent the night at the Mangrove Valley Resort in the Dhangmari area and were heading toward Karamjal Tourist Center when the accident occurred.
All passengers fell into the river, and while most managed to swim ashore or were rescued by locals, Riana went missing.
The victim’s father, Abul Kalam Azad, an engineer in the Bangladesh Air Force, said the family lives in Uttara, Dhaka, and their ancestral home is in Barisal.
“We came here for a family trip. Our small boat capsized due to strong waves from a large vessel. While 12 of us managed to get ashore, my daughter Riana could not be found,” he said.
Confirming the incident, Surjit Chowdhury, Station Officer of the Dhangmari Station under the Sundarbans East Forest Division, said that forest officials and locals have launched a search and rescue operation to locate the missing woman.
