A young tourist went missing while swimming at Cox’s Bazar’s Laboni Point on Sunday afternoon.
The missing is Md Ahanaf,17, son of Shariful Islam from Bogura Sadar upazila.
The incident occurred around 3 PM, according to officials from local beach management team.
Mahbub Alam, supervisor of district administration’s beach workers, confirmed the incident and said Ahanaf’s family had arrived in Cox’s Bazar earlier in the day and were staying at a relative’s house.
In the afternoon, Ahanaf and two others went swimming at Laboni Point. While two of them were rescued after being swept away by current, Ahanaf was pulled under and has not been found since.
Search and rescue efforts are ongoing, involving lifeguards, tourist police and beach workers. As of 6 PM, there was still no trace of the missing teenager.
Speaking on the incident, Additional DIG of Tourist Police (Cox’s Bazar region) Apel Mahmud said tourists are regularly advised to avoid swimming during high tides and in risky zones, but many continue to ignore these warnings, often leading to tragic consequences.
This is not an isolated case. On June 8 and 9, three tourists; including a father and son, two Rohingya teenagers and a local resident died after being swept away while swimming.
On July 8, three students from University of Chittagong were pulled into the sea at Himchhari beach; two bodies were recovered, but one student, Aritra Hasan, remains missing.
In total, at least 14 people have died this year after drowning or becoming trapped in concealed sea channels along the Cox’s Bazar coast.
