CHILD BODY FOUND INFRONT OF HER HOUSE

Bangladesh

CHILD BODY FOUND INFRONT OF HER HOUSE

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The body of six-month-old baby Sehrish, who went missing after falling into a canal in the Chawkbazar area of Chittagong city, has been recovered 14 hours after the accident.

Locals recovered the baby's lifeless body from the Chaktai canal at around 10 am on Saturday (April 19). The place where the body was recovered from the scene was about 8-9 kilometers away from the accident site, near the child's own house.

After a long rescue operation conducted by the Fire Service, Navy, Police and Ansar members, locals found the body floating in the canal in the morning. It was later recovered and handed over to the family.

Earlier on Friday (April 18), around 8 pm, while the child was returning home in a battery-powered auto-rickshaw with his mother and grandmother in the area adjacent to Nawab Hotel in Chawkbazar, the vehicle suddenly fell into the Hijla canal. Although the locals were able to rescue the rickshaw driver immediately, Sehrish's mother and grandmother were swept away by the strong current of water. Later, with the help of Chittagong City Corporation workers, they were rescued alive from the pipe under the bridge. However, the child Sehrish remained missing.

Immediately after the incident, Chittagong City Corporation Mayor Dr. Shahadat Hossain, senior officials of the fire service and administration visited the scene and ordered to continue the rescue operation.

The city residents have long been concerned about the mismanagement and insecurity of the canals and drains in Chittagong. At least seven people have lost their lives in such accidents in the last four years, several of whom are children.

A shadow of mourning has fallen over the area over Sehrish's tragic death. Local residents expressed their anger and said, "Every time there is a discussion for a few days after the accident, but no effective permanent solution is seen. The administration should take immediate action."

The local residents, including the child's family, strongly demanded that safety barricades and covers be installed along the city's canals and drains so that such heartbreaking incidents do not happen again.