Suspected British cargo ship wreckage found

Sualkuchi locals fish out remains from Brahmaputra bed

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, January 30: Villagers in Sualkuchi today claimed to have found the remains of a British cargo ship that sank in the Brahmaputra seventy years ago.

The district administration, however, said further verification was required to ascertain that the remains reportedly fished out from the river bed were actually that of a British trawler.

Villagers said that the ship – med Vulture – had sunk in the river in 1943. It was carrying commodities like salt and turmeric. “As it was a cargo ship, not many people were killed in the mishap,” a villager elder said.

In fact, the villagers even organized a ceremony today commemorating those who had lost lives in the mishap.

It is learnt that the locals stumbled upon the remains of the ship today while fishing. A large number of locals soon gathered in the area to fish out the suspected parts of the sunken trawler.

Kamrup Deputy Commissioner Dr J Balaji said he has sent a team led by a circle officer to the spot to verify the incident. “I came to know about the incident from the media. Normally, whenever such incidents happen, the people should inform the administration. In any case, I will visit the site persolly tomorrow. I can only confirm anything after that,” he told The Sentinel.