Bangladeshi barge sinks in Bengal river; none injured

A Bangladeshi barge sank in a river in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Monday after hitting a submerged pontoon jetty that was damaged by Cyclone Amphan, officials of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) said. All the 12 crew members of the barge, 'M V Prianka', have been rescued by the local administration after receiving an SOS call from the vessel, the officials said.

The incident occurred early in the morning in the Hatania-Donia river in Namkhana, they said. The left side of the barge is fully submerged in the river, they said.

"The barge M V Prianka was carrying a cargo load of about 800-900 tonnes of fly ash from Budge Budge jetty in West Bengal to Bangladesh. It was sailing during low tide and hit the submerged pontoon jetty," a barge operator told PTI. The accident could have been averted had the state administration marked the area, he said.

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