Launch stuck mid-river for 4 hours

Barisal, July 13 The government-owned vessel PS Lepcha was stuck mid-river for four hours with 350 passengers on board after its engine stopped.

The vessel's Babel gear broke around 9pm Thursday when it reached Charmonai on the Kirtankhola River, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTC) Assistant General Manager Gopal Chandra Majumder told bdnews24.com.

It had headed off from Barisal towards Dhaka at 7:45pm Thursday with 790 passengers onboard, he added.

Of the passengers, 330 were picked up by Khijir-8, a private vessel, and taken to Barisal. Another 400 boarded Dhaka-bound launch MV Jubaraj.

Remaining 60 passengers were sent to Barisal on PS Austrich, another BIWTC vessel.

"Lepcha will be pulled to Narayanganj dockyard with another vessel where it will be repaired," Gopalchandra said.