Three tourists have died while swimming at Himchhari beach in Cox's Bazar and two others are missing today, Wednesday, around 4: 30 PM at the beach adjacent to the museum of Marina Resort on the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive in Himchhari.
Fire service, lifeguards, and beach workers conducted a search until 7: 30 PM but couldn't find the two missing individuals.
According to police and lifeguard sources, a group of 12 people from Dhaka went to visit Himchhari beach.
Among them, five people went swimming in the sea. At that time, due to a large wave, all five got submerged. Later, lifeguards and locals rescued three of them. However, by then, they had already passed away. Searches are ongoing to find the other two missing individuals.
The three deceased tourists are Md Borhan (23), Saiful Islam (23), and Nafisul Haque (22) from Diabari, Uttara, Dhaka. Their bodies have been taken from Himchhari to the morgue at Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital at night.
The the incident has been confirmed by the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Ramu Police Station, AK Fazlul Haque. He told Prothom Alo that operations are ongoing to rescue the two missing individuals.
Imtiaz Ahmed, regional director of the private lifeguard company Sea-Safe, told Prothom Alo that the group of 12 tourists from Dhaka went to the beach adjacent to the museum of Marina Resort in Himchhari, about 9 kilometers south of the city, around 4 PM. Among them, five went swimming in the sea. When they got submerged due to waves, lifeguards and locals quickly initiated rescue efforts. Three were rescued but had already died.
Imtiaz Ahmed stated that from Kolatoli to Laboni Point along the Cox's Bazar sea beach, about five kilometers, Sea-Safe has 27 lifeguards available for rescue operations if someone goes missing while swimming.
However, there aren't enough personnel to conduct rescue operations along the vast stretch of beach from Kolatoli to the south, including Dariyanagar, Himchhari, Patuartek, Inani, and Teknaf.
Imtiaz Ahmed added that over 300,000 tourists are currently in Cox's Bazar. This afternoon, a large crowd gathered at Laboni Point for the immersion festival of idols. Seeing the crowd at various points on the beach, many people are rushing to swim at Dariyanagar and Himchhari beaches, which is increasing the risk of accidents.
According to Imtiaz Ahmed, at least 20 hidden channels have formed at Kolatoli, Sugandha, and Laboni Points, including Himchhari-Dariyanagar. Despite multiple places displaying red flags warning against swimming in dangerous areas, many are not adhering to the warnings.
Currently, more than 300, 000 tourists are staying in Cox''s Bazar. It has been reported by the concerned individuals that no rooms are available in any of the over 500 hotels, guesthouses, resorts, and cottages.
Most recently, on September 27 at Laboni Point on Cox''s Bazar beach, a tourist died from being swept away by the sea.