News Flash
KHULNA, Sept 14, 2025 (BSS) – The body of Mahit Abdullah, 16, a tourist who went missing on Saturday at Dimer Char, close to Kochikhali in the Eastern Sundarbans, was recovered after 30 hours from the southern part of the Bay of Bengal.
Fishermen found the body floating in the sea around 3 pm today while netting fish. On information, a Coast Guard team of Mongla station rushed to the spot and took the body into their custody from the fishermen, Media Cell of the Kochikhali BCG outpost and Md Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, DFO of the East Sundarbans Division, confirmed this evening.
Talking to BSS, DFO Chowdhury said family members, including the father of the deceased, had already reached the Kochikhali BCG station and identified Mahit.
The body will be handed over to his father immediately after completion of legal procedures, said the DFO.
Md Mizanur Rahman, Acting Officer (Forester) of the Kochikhali Wildlife Sanctuary under the Sharankhola Range, told BSS that the incident occurred around 11 am, shortly after the vessel anchored near Dimer Char. The tourists had disembarked to explore the area, and Mahit Abdullah entered the water with his father, Sheikh Sultan Mahmud Asad, and his mother for a swim.
While bathing, Mahit was suddenly swept away by a strong current, Mizanur said, adding that despite immediate rescue attempts by the ship’s crew and forest rangers, he disappeared beneath the waves and could not be located.
Search and rescue efforts were launched jointly by forest guards, the Coast Guard, and the Navy on Saturday and Sunday until Mahit was found.
MV The Explorer, a tourist vessel, had departed Dhaka on Friday evening with 75 tourists and was scheduled to return to Khulna by Sunday night, said Nazmul Azam David, General Secretary of the Tour Operators of the Sundarbans Association.
