Video of body on raft going through floodwaters goes viral; Satkania UNO says misrepresented for 'views'
Local administration says the body was brought home on a fishing raft before being buried through normal procedures.
Highlights:
- Viral video misrepresented incident, says Satkania UNO
- Body brought home on fishing raft after stroke
- Deceased buried following janaza, administration says
- District begins fact-checking over misleading social media claims
A video showing a body being transported on a banana-tree raft through floodwaters in Chattogram's Satkania has gone viral on social media, prompting claims that severe flooding prevented the deceased from being buried.
However, the local administration says the incident has been misrepresented to generate online engagement.
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According to local residents, Mohammad Forkan, a driver from ward no 3 of Keochia union, died early on Friday (10 July) after reportedly suffering a stroke while fishing.
Family members said floodwaters had inundated the area, making transportation difficult. With the assistance of local residents, the body was later taken to the graveyard on a makeshift raft made from banana trees and buried after janaza prayers.
However, Satkania Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Khondaker Mahmudul Hasan told The Business Standard yesterday (11 July) that the viral claims surrounding the incident were false.
"The incident is true, but the video has been circulated with a false explanation," he said.
According to the UNO, Forkan suffered a stroke while fishing, and those accompanying him used the same banana-tree raft they had been fishing on to bring his body home because no boat was immediately available.
"The man suffered a stroke while fishing. There was no boat available at the time, so those with him brought the body home on the same raft they had been using for fishing. After janaza, he was buried through the normal process."
Mahmudul Hasan said the video had been presented in a way that falsely suggested the family was unable to bury the deceased because of floodwaters or that the administration had failed to provide assistance.
"In reality, nothing like that happened. The incident has been distorted on social media simply to increase views," he said.
He added that the Chattogram district administration had launched a fact-checking process and urged people to verify information before sharing content on social media.
The video spread widely on Saturday, showing several people transporting a body on a raft made of banana trees. It was shared by many users as purported evidence that flood victims were unable to conduct burials due to the inundation.
Meanwhile, the Satkania administration confirmed three other flood-related incidents in the upazila.
According to the UNO, strong flood currents damaged several graves at a cemetery in Bazalia union. Local residents later recovered three bodies that had been washed out and reburied them at another cemetery in a safer location.
