Shafiul Alam
The body of a young tourist has been recovered from the Bakkhali estuary on Cox’s Bazar beach; Police have arrested four friends of the tourist killed in the incident. Cox’s Bazar District Administration Tourism Cell Executive Magistrate Syed Murad Hossain said the body was found floating in the sea at the mouth of the Bankkhali River in Nazirartek area of Cox’s Bazar town at 1pm on Saturday. The deceased was identified as Meher Farabi Avro, 27, son of Ibn Mizan Alfa of Qutub Ali police station in Jessore district.

Detained others are, Masudur Rahman’s son Raihan Uddin, Md. Mumin Uddin’s son Rohan Uddin, Shawkat Hasan’s son Muhibul Hasan and Mahfuzur Rahman Khan’s son Fardin Khan Aranyak. They came to visit Cox’s Bazar with Meher Farabi Avro.

Earlier on Friday afternoon, a 27-year-old tourist named Rafiq Ishik died while taking a bath in the sea at Sea-Gull Point on Cox’s Bazar beach. He is the son of Kasaddus Jamal of Qutub Ali police station in Jessore district.

According to administration officials, Rafiq went to bathe in the sea with Ishik and Meher Farabi Avro. On Friday afternoon, beach lifeguards rescued Rafiq Ishik, but Meher Farabi Avro was missing. They went out to bathe in the sea with 8 friends who came to visit. But other friends did not inform the administration about the rescue of one friend and the disappearance of another.

Syed Murad Hossain said the locals informed the police when they saw a dead body floating in the sea estuary of Bakkhali river in Nazirartek area of Cox’s Bazar town at noon. A police team later reached the spot and recovered the body of an unidentified youth.

“Earlier on Friday afternoon, lifeguards rescued a young man in a coma while he was bathing in the sea and being swept away by the current. He was later taken to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital where the on-duty doctor declared him dead. Administration officials, including the police, thought the deceased was a tourist but could not confirm his identity. ”

The executive magistrate of the tourist cell said, “Meanwhile, beach workers were miking at various points of Cox’s Bazar beach to find out the identity of the tourist who died after taking a bath in the sea on Friday afternoon and the youth who was rescued from the mouth of Bankkhali river on Saturday afternoon. At one point in the afternoon, 4 young men came and told the beach workers that two of their friends were missing after taking a bath in the sea on Friday. ”

“Beach workers later informed the administration about the disappearance of the two tourists, including the tourist police. After that 4 friends who came to search were taken to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital morgue. At that time, they confirmed the identities of the two friends after seeing the two bodies, “said Syed Murad Hossain.

Referring to the friends who came to look for him, he said, last Thursday 7 friends from Jashore came to visit Cox’s Bazar. They then boarded the Hotel Beach Holiday in the Hotel-Motel Zone of Cox’s Bazar. On Friday afternoon, friends took a bath in the sea at Sea-Gull Point on the beach.
“But the administration has not been informed about the death of one friend and the disappearance of another. To confirm the identities of the dead on Saturday, beach workers came to look for 4 friends through miking. The information was withheld and handed over to the police as their behavior seemed suspicious.”

The bodies of the two rescued tourists are in the morgue of Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital for autopsy, said Syed Murad Hossain.