Bus Recovered from Padma After 6 Hours; Death Toll Rises to 23

The rescue vessel Hamza has successfully retrieved a passenger bus that plunged into the Padma River at Rajbari’s Daulatdia Ghat. The vehicle was pulled from the water approximately six hours after the accident occurred while it was attempting to board a ferry.

As of Thursday morning, 23 bodies have been recovered, including the driver of the "Souhardya Paribahan" bus, Arman Khan. The victims identified so far include 4 men, 11 women, and 8 children.

Incident Timeline
The recovery operation concluded around 12:30 AM on Wednesday (March 25) night when Hamza managed to pull the bus to the surface from a depth of approximately 90 feet.

According to Dewan Sohel Rana, Deputy Assistant Director of the Rajbari Fire Service, 16 bodies were initially moved to the Goalandu Upazila Health Complex, with the toll rising as the search continued.

The Cause of the Crash
Monir Hossain, the transport terminal supervisor at Daulatdia, provided details on the sequence of events:

The Wait: Shortly after 5:00 PM, the Souhardya Paribahan bus arrived at Terminal No. 3. It had just missed a departing ferry and was waiting for the next one.

The Collision: Around 5:15 PM, a small utility ferry named Hasna Hena struck the pontoon with significant force while docking.

The Plunge: The impact caused the bus to lose stability and roll into the river.

Survivors and Ongoing Search
At the time of the accident, at least 45 passengers were believed to be on board. While 11 individuals managed to swim to shore, the rest went down with the vehicle.

A joint rescue effort involving the Bangladesh Army, District Police, Naval Police, and Fire Service remains active at the site.

High-ranking administrative officials, including the District Commissioner and the Police Superintendent, are present to oversee the operations and provide support to the grieving families gathered at the riverbank.