A police officer went missing after a speedboat sank following a collision with a passenger launch named Karnaphuli-12 on the Meghna River in Lalmohan, Bhola. The incident occurred around 8 p.m. on Wednesday near the Mangal Sikdar launch terminal. The missing officer, Md. Fakhrul, was stationed at the Sikdar Police Investigation Center in Lalmohan and is a resident of Bakerganj, Barishal. Five others, including three police constables and two fisheries department staff, were injured in the accident.

According to eyewitnesses, the team was conducting an operation to enforce a government fishing ban when their speedboat malfunctioned and drifted into the river. The launch, arriving from Dhaka, was unloading passengers at the time. The drifting boat was pulled under the launch by the current, and when attempts were made to move it, the propeller’s whirlpool overturned the vessel. Most passengers swam to safety, but Fakhrul went missing.

Lalmohan Police Station’s officer-in-charge Md. Oliul Islam said a rescue operation is underway to locate the missing constable and that legal measures will follow.