Police have seized the launch Adventure 9 and detained four of its crew after a collision between two passenger launches on the Meghna River near Jhalokathi, leaving many passengers injured.

The accident happened late Thursday night in heavy fog when the Jhalokathi -bound Adventure 9 collided head-on with another launch named Samrat.

According to reports, around 30 passengers were injured in the crash.

There were also reports that 4 people have died.

According to witnesses, some BNP leaders and activists from Jhalokathi were returning by the Adventure 9 after attending a public rally of BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman.

The collision took place around 2:30am, causing severe damage to the front part of the Adventure 9.

Local police and river police later seized the launch at the Jhalokathi terminal and detained four crew members for questioning.

The injured passengers were taken to Sher E Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barishal for treatment.

A passenger, Md. Hasan, said that after the launch departed, nothing could be seen in the dense fog at night.

Investigation committee formed following launch collision in Chandpur

“We were asleep late at night when a loud sound suddenly woke us. When I went forward, I saw many passengers were injured, and a few had died. Actually, no launch is at fault here. The accident happened because of the fog,” he added.

Imtiaz Ahmed, Officer-in-Charge of Jhalokathi Police Station, said that police and river police were stationed at the terminal from early morning.

“Due to fog, the launch arrived at the terminal around 11 am. At that time, we conducted an operation inside the vessel. For legal action, Chandpur river police arrived to take the seized launch into their custody,” he added.