A teenager drowned in a Sylhet pond on Monday evening trying to rescue one of his friends in distress. The deceased was identified as Habibur Rahman Mahi (16). According to eye-witnesses, a group of teens decided to take a bath in the village pond in Mukitla of Sylhet's Lakshanaband union following their evening games. Read:Mentally disturbed woman drowns baby in Kushtia, held Suddenly, one of the teens started struggling in the waters of the pond. Seeing his friend in distress, Habibur dived deep under water to rescue him. Though he managed to save his friend, Habibur himself drowned. On information, a team from Gopalganj Fire Service immediately rushed to the spot and started a rescue operation, only to recover the body of Habibur hours later, Golapganj Model Police Station officer-in-charge Mohammad Harunur Rashid Chowdhury told UNB. Drowning in Bangladesh Drowning is the leading cause of death for children under five in Bangladesh. According to Bangladesh Health and Injury Survey (BHIS), nearly 17,000 children drown annually, an average of around 46 each day, in the country. That has led to it being described as a 'Silent Killer'. Read: 3 Rohingya children drown at Bhashanchar A cross-governmental taskforce was established on drowning prevention – led by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, with representation from 12 departments. The task force is working to prepare a ‘National Drowning Reduction Strategy’. According to the WHO’s latest estimates, drowning is the cause of 235,000 deaths every year. Many countries, including Bangladesh, report drowning as a leading cause of childhood mortality, particularly in children under the age of five.

In the worst possible way to start Eid, a 2-year-old boy drowned in his village in Hatibandha upazila of Lalmonirhat district, in strikingly typical circumstances that have earned drowning the reputation of being ‘the silent killer’ of children in Bangladesh.