Death Surge

Located on the delta of the Ganges river, Bangladesh is a country of waterways. There are around 300 rivers in Bangladesh, which make up 24,140 km of waterways. For this reason, river transportation is used more than road or rail transportation. However, poorly designed transport boats, poor maintenance, recruitment of unskilled boat drivers, and the overloading of transport vessels are resulting in catastrophic boat disasters which kill thousands. It has been reported that in last 15 years there have been 573 boat accidents. These accidents have claimed the lives of more than 5000 people, and left around 1000 people missing and unaccounted for. River transport is particularly popular among Bangladesh’s poor people, as it is much cheaper than overland transport. As a result, most victims of riverboat disasters come from poor backgrounds, as they have no choice but to travel by boat. Many of those who require transport in the first place are the primary breadwinners of a family, as they need to travel to and from work. Therefore, those most affected by these tragic disasters are some of Bangladesh’s most vulnerable. Many of those killed leave behind dependent and impoverished families.