On 24 December 2021, the passenger ferry MV Avijan-10 caught fire on the Sugandha River, near the town of Jhalokati, in southern Bangladesh.
[3][5] According to the deputy director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence at Brishal, the blaze started in the engine room and quickly spread to other parts of the ferry.
The Daily Star reported that 15 firefighting units arrived at the scene within 50 minutes of the fire, and the situation was brought under control at 05:20[6] A dense fog hampered the rescue operations.
[4] Zohar Ali, the chief administrator of the district, stated that 4–5 hours passed before the fire was extinguished.
[10] Following the incident, a special committee was set up by the government to investigate the fire and report the findings within three days.
[2] According to The Daily Star, the boatmaster failed to properly moor the launch after the engines died, and abandoned the vessel without dropping an anchor.