Man drowns in river while crossing with cattle in Bangladesh

A 60-year-old man, Gul Mohammad, drowned in the Karatoya River in Panchagarh's Sadar upazila on Saturday afternoon while attempting to swim across with his cattle. Mohammad, a resident of Bodapara village, had initially crossed the river to graze his livestock.

“

Gul Mohammad had crossed the river in the morning to graze his cattle on a char. Around 12:30pm, he was swimming back across the river with the cattle when he was caught in a strong current and swept away.

According to Tushar Kanti Roy, station officer of Panchagarh Fire Service, Mohammad was swimming back across the river with his cattle around 12:30 p.m. when he was caught in a powerful current and pulled under. Witnesses on the riverbank heard his calls for help and attempted a rescue but were unsuccessful.

“

After being informed, a Fire Service team rushed to the spot and launched a search operation with the assistance of local residents.

A Fire Service team, alerted to the situation, launched a search operation with the help of local residents. After several hours, Mohammad's body was recovered from the riverbed approximately one kilometer downstream from where he disappeared. Roy noted that the victim had sustained injury marks on his head, leading his family to suspect he may have struck a cement boulder along the riverbank.

“

Injury marks were found on the victim's head when the body was recovered.

Ashraful Islam, officer-in-charge of Panchagarh Sadar Police Station, confirmed that an unnatural death (UD) case has been registered in connection with the incident. The investigation will likely focus on the circumstances of the drowning and the potential contributing factors.

“

An unnatural death (UD) case has been filed in connection with the incident.