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A tourist has gone missing in the Sundarbans after a tourist boat became stranded on a newly emerged shoal near Dublar Char in the Sharanakhola Range on Friday.
The missing tourist was identified as Riaz Ahmed, a resident of Kathali Paschimpara in Bhaluka upazila of Mymensingh, according to initial information.
The incident occurred around 1pm on November 6.
According to Forest Department sources, 19 tourists set out for the Sundarbans on November 5 aboard a boat named Eco Tourism-2, operated by Md Mizanur Rahman, from the Kadamtala Forest Station in the Satkhira Range of the western Sundarbans.
The group included nine tourists from Narsingdi, nine from Mymensingh and one from Dhaka-Gazipur.
On Friday, before reaching Dublar Char, the boat became stuck on a newly formed shoal. The crew and others tried to free it by pushing, with some tourists also getting off the boat to help.
After repeated attempts failed, everyone returned to the boat. The tour guide then began counting the tourists and discovered that one person was missing. Searches in all the cabins also failed to locate him.
Tour guide Mizanur Rahman said he informed everyone after finding one tourist missing during the headcount. The Forest Department and Coast Guard were subsequently notified.
Following the report, the Forest Department and Coast Guard launched a joint search and rescue operation.
Assistant Conservator of Forests of the Satkhira Range Md Shahinur Islam said they had received information about a missing tourist, but his name and address had not yet been officially verified. Search efforts were underway.
Senior journalist Mohsin Ul Hakim, who has long worked on issues concerning the Sundarbans and its ecosystem, said visiting the mangrove forest could be exciting but also involved risks.
He said tourists could enjoy the forest safely by following government instructions, warning that straying from designated guidelines could lead to dangerous situations.
He added that the cause of the disappearance remained unclear, but the tourist might have been swept away by a rip current, a powerful, narrow current flowing away from the shore.
The incident has sparked anxiety among other tourists visiting the Sundarbans.