Five dead after tourist boat capsizes in Bangladeshi lake

At least five people died after a tourist boat capsized in south-eastern Bangladesh on Friday, rescuers said.

The boat carrying nearly 30 tourists overturned in Kaptai Lake while it was on way to the Sublang waterfall.

It was travelling from Rangamati district headquarters, located nearly 200 kilometres south-east of the capital Dhaka, said Ratan Nath, an official at the Fire Service and Civil Defence department.

He said his team retrieved the bodies of five people and rescued the survivors from the lake, which is the country’s largest artificial body of water.

It was created in the early 1960s when a dam was built over the Karnaphuli River for a hydroelectricity project.

Nath could not determine the reason for the accident.

Police officer Khan Nurul-Islam said the victims came from neighbouring Chattogram district for a weekend visit.

Those who died in the accident were employees of a garment factory in Chattogram, he added.

Boat capsize deaths are frequent in Bangladesh, which is full of rivers.

Experts blame poor safety measures and the lax implementation of regulations.

(dpa/NAN)