The salvage operation of the MV-Sagar Nandini-2 vessel that sank carrying 11 lakh metric tonnes of furnace oil in the Meghna River, was launched on Thursday four days after its sinking. A team comprising members of river police, coast guard, divers and Bangladesh Water Transport Inland Authority (BIWTA) started the operation with the help of two barges---Jahura and Humaira this morning. Md Shahjahan, director of river protection and management division of BIWTA, said the furnace oil from the sunken vessel will be first extracted while the dredging work was going on to retrieve it. He said it is not certain how many days it will take to salvage the vessel as the operation depends on tide. The salvage operation will hopefully be completed within next Sunday, he said, adding that they were working carefully due to having explosive substances inside the vessel. On the other hand, fishermen were informed that they spotted fishes floating in the river and might have died due to oil spilled into the river. Read more: Ferry gets stuck in Meghna shoal, passengers rescued The fishers, however, said oil was seen in the river for the first two days since its sinking, though the water is now clear. The vessel named ‘Sagar Nandini-2’ from Chattogram port sank in Meghna as another vessel hit it at Tulatuli Majher Char while heading towards Chandpur Padma Depot around 4am on Sunday. The accident took place due to poor visibility caused by the dense fog. All the fuel spilled into the river. Local people later collected the fuel in containers. Fortunately, all 13 crew members of the vessel were rescued by another vessel passing through the area. The authorities concerned formed two separate investigation committees to unveil the reason behind the sinking. Meanwhile, a large area in the Meghna river has been polluted by furnace oil spill since the vessel with 11 lakh litres of oil sank in the river — posing threat to biodiversity and environment. Read more: Oil spill in Meghna river threatening environment, vessel still not recovered after 36 hours

The operation to salvage sunken ferry Shah Amanat was suspended once again on the fifth day of the work on Sunday.   So far, eight covered vans, six trucks and five motorcycles were pulled out of water since the ferry careened and sank on Wednesday at Paturia terminal. READ: 4 km long tailback of vehicles at Daulatdia ferry terminal Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) joint director and in-charge of the rescue operation Fazlur Rahman said further action will be taken as per the decision of the inter-ministerial meeting in Dhaka. He added that the ministry will decide when the salvage operation will begin again. However, the salvage vessels ‘Hamza’ and ‘Rustam’ have been kept on standby at the spot. Fire service divers, naval teams and Coast Guard rescue workers are also awaiting further instructions. Meanwhile, the salvaged vehicles have been handed over to the owners. However, the owners complained that the goods in the truck were not recovered. The owners also demanded compensation. READ: Paturia ferry accident: Salvage vessel ‘Rustom’ joins rescue operation on day 4 Earlier on Wednesday morning, the MV Shah Amanat capsized near Paturia's fifth ferry terminal while preparing to dock. It was carrying 14 goods-laden trucks and four motorcycles at the time. On the following day, the shipping ministry and Manikganj deputy commissioner formed two separate committees to investigate the incident.