Mongla, Nov 08 (V7N) — An American expatriate woman has gone missing after a tourist boat capsized in the Pashur River near Mongla on Saturday morning. The incident occurred around 11:30 a.m., prompting an immediate search operation by the Forest Department and local residents.

According to Surjit Chowdhury, Station Officer of the Sundarbans East Forest Division’s Dhangmari Station, a group of 13 tourists had spent the previous night at the “Mangrove Valley” resort in Dhangmari. On Saturday morning, they set out for the Karamjol Tourist Center in a small boat. As the boat reached the confluence of the Dhangmari Canal and the Pashur River, it was struck by powerful waves, causing it to overturn.

All passengers fell into the river. Some managed to swim to safety, while others were rescued by nearby boatmen and locals. However, one passenger, identified as Riyana Abzal, 28, remains missing. She was a former pilot in the Bangladesh Air Force and later moved to the United States.

Riyana’s father, Abul Kalam Azad, an engineer with the Bangladesh Air Force, recounted the incident, saying a large naval vessel passing nearby created massive waves that overturned their small boat. “There were 13 of us on board. Twelve made it out alive, but my daughter Riyana could not be found,” he said.

Riyana had come to the Sundarbans with her family and her in-laws for a leisure trip. The family resides in Uttara, Dhaka, and their ancestral home is in Barishal.

Forest officials, assisted by local volunteers and boatmen, have been conducting an extensive search operation in the Pashur River area since the incident. Authorities said rescue efforts will continue until the missing tourist is found.

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