Staff Correspondent:

What should have been a time of warmth, laughter, and familial bliss has instead left behind the silence of mourning, as the Eid holidays witnessed the tragic loss of at least 14 lives, including children, in a heartbreaking series of drowning across the country.

From tranquil village ponds to the lively tourist shores of Cox’s Bazar and the scenic waters of Sylhet, the ripples of joy turned into waves of grief, underscoring a harrowing national truth: drowning remains a silent predator, claiming lives that might have been saved.

TEARS IN NOAKHALI AND MOULVIBAZAR: FAMILIES SHATTERED

In the quiet corner of Subarnachar upazila in Noakhali, an ordinary afternoon turned devastating when two cousins—Faria Akter, just three years old, and her five-year-old playmate Mohammad Tahasin—slipped away into eternity.

Visiting their grandfather’s home in the Char Jubilee area, the children, gleeful in the spirit of Eid, wandered near a pond.

Their laughter was the last sound heard before the water claimed them.

Miles away, in the peaceful village of Hamidpur in Moulvibazar’s Juri upazila, a father’s love met a tragic end.

Babul Ahmed Babu, 60, a brick kiln owner, had taken it upon himself to teach his daughter Halima Mohammad, 18, how to swim.

What began as a tender lesson ended in heartbreak.

Halima lost her footing and disappeared beneath the water’s surface. In a desperate attempt to save her, her father followed.

Both lives were extinguished within moments, their final embrace submerged in sorrow.

A GRIM TOLL AT THE SEA’S EDGE: COX’S BAZAR MOURNS

The salty breeze of Cox’s Bazar could not sweep away the anguish that settled over the beach town, where a series of drownings unfolded within a mere 16 hours.

Among the victims were Shahinur Rahman, 60, and his 20-year-old son Sifat from Rajshahi.

The two were swimming near Kolatoli Beach, likely sharing a rare and joyous moment of bonding, when the sea turned hostile and swallowed them whole.

Elsewhere, the lifeless body of local fisherman Nurul Saudagar was pulled from the Nazirar Tek area, having vanished while engaged in the livelihood that once sustained him.

Three more bodies were found across Pechar Dwip, the Bakkhali estuary, and Diabetes Point—each discovery a cruel punctuation mark in a string of grief, raising the death toll in the area to six.

Promise unfulfilled: Youth lost in rivers and ravines

In Tangail’s Bhuapur upazila, the waters of the Bairan River silenced the dreams of BRAC University student Mostafa Shahriar Nihal. Just 22 years old, Nihal had returned home for Eid—perhaps to unwind, perhaps to reconnect with his roots—when a swim turned fatal.

The village air that had once nurtured him now carries only sorrow.

In Gowainghat upazila of Sylhet, another young life was taken too soon.

Fifteen-year-old Mahi, a resident of Chittagong’s Bayezid area, was swept away by the Piyain River while visiting Jaflong, one of the country’s beloved tourist spots.

A holiday of wonder ended in tragedy, leaving his family adrift in anguish.

INNOCENCE LOST IN KISHOREGANJ: A PIT BECOMES A TOMB

The village of Pitua in Kishoreganj’s Karimganj upazila bears the weight of another sorrowful tale.

Two young cousins—Yasmin Akhter, 8, and Taiyeba Akhter, 9—ventured to a nearby pit filled with rainwater.

Laughter and playful splashes soon gave way to an eerie silence.

Both girls drowned before help could arrive, leaving behind heartbroken families and a community numb with shock.

A NATION’S CHILDREN AT PERIL: A CRISIS TOO LONG IGNORED

Bangladesh, with its many rivers and water bodies, is no stranger to the dangers of open water.

Yet the scale of this preventable tragedy is staggering.

According to UNICEF, drowning stands as one of the leading causes of death among children under five in the country.

Some 14,000 young lives are lost each year—many during the monsoon, when the landscape becomes a dangerous playground.

Every day, an average of 40 children drown—lives with potential, laughter, and love—all extinguished in moments that could have been averted.

The World Health Organization (WHO) echoes this grim reality, ranking drowning as one of the top causes of death among children and young people in South-East Asia.

A CRY FOR CHANGE: TIME TO ACT

The call for action rings louder with every lost life.

Experts stress the urgent need for community awareness, vigilant supervision, and widespread swimming education.

Simple, low-cost solutions—such as local swimming lessons, safe play zones, and crèche-style supervision—have the power to save thousands.

Unless we act now, the tide will continue to steal our children—one moment of inattention, one step too close to the edge, one more life gone.

“Let these stories not fade into mere statistics. Let the grief etched into these families’ hearts become the driving force behind a nationwide commitment—to protect, to prevent, and to preserve the most precious gift of all: life,” said Syed Farhad, a businessman of Chittagong.