Child goes missing as auto-rickshaw falls into drain in Chattogram

A six-month-old child went missing after a battery-run auto-rickshaw overturned and fell into a roadside drain in Chattogram’s Chawkbazar area on Friday.

According to the Fire Service, the accident occurred when the rickshaw, moving at high speed, lost control and plunged into the drain. Locals managed to rescue the two passengers — including the missing child’s mother — immediately after the incident.

As of 12:20 am on Saturday, four and a half hours after the mishap, the child was yet to be found, said Anwar Hossain, assistant director of Chattogram Fire Service and Civil Defence. The rescue operation was ongoing at the time.

Upon receiving the news, Chattogram City Corporation mayor Shahadat Hossain visited the scene and directed the authorities to prioritise the search effort.

A combined team of fire-fighters, divers, and city corporation cleaning staff was carrying out the rescue operation.

Eyewitnesses said that during the accident, the child slipped from the mother’s arms and was swept away by the strong current in the drain.