[1] Ferry hits Padma Bridge: ‘Nothing would happen to Padma Bridge even though any big ship hit pillars’
DOT Desk: [2] A t least 20 passengers of Ro-Ro ferry Shah Jalal were injured when the ferry plying on Shimulia-Banglabazar waterway hit the Padma Bridge’s pillar No. 17 on yesterday, reports Daily Observer.
[3] The accident took place at around 9:45 am when the ferry’s master allegedly lost control over the steering on the way to Shimulia Ghat in Munshiganj district from Banglabazar Ghat in Madharipur district.
[4] ‘Nothing would happen to Padma Bridge even though any big ship hit pillars’
[5] ‘Nothing would happen to Padma Bridge even though any big ship hit pillars’
[6] Ferry’s master Abdur Rahman said he lost control after the electronic system of his ferry had failed. The strong current in the river dragged the ferry towards the Padma Bridge and later hit the pillar.
[7] Following the accident, Abdur Rahman, also the inland master officer in-charge of the ferry, was suspended, said
the BIWTC in a circular in this regard.
[8] Witnesses said Ro-Ro ferry Shah Jalal was badly damaged when it hit the Pillar No. 17 of Padma Bridge at about 9:45am on Friday, leaving minimum 20 passengers injured.
Passengers of the ferry said the ferry’s master lost control over the ferry immediately after it entered the river Padma on its way to Shimulia ghat in Munshiganj district leaving Banglabazar Ghat in Madaripur district.
Several passengers alleged that panic had spread among the passengers when the accident happened suddenly. Many of them were hit on their hands, legs and chests. A few of them also received multiple injuries.
Padma Bridge Project’s executive engineer (Main Bridge) Dewan Md Abdul Kader said the Ro-Ro Ferry hit the Padma Bridge. However, the pillar was not affected affected at all.
He further said the Padma Bridge has been built in such a way that nothing will happen to its pillars if any large ship, even weighing 100 tonnes, hit the bridge. However, a team has been sent to the spot.