Launches collide

The operators of the two launches are blaming each other for the collision, which apparently was the result of violation of all kinds of navigational rules--visibility was poor; the launches reportedly had no searchlights; both of them were carrying passengers well above their capacity; and neither of them used a siren or horn to alert the other vessel. The result is loss of valuable lives, the number of which is almost certain to rise further.

Launch accidents in recent times have caused quite a bit of public commotion. The government responded by laying down a set of rules for the operators when the death figures began to look unusually high and totally unacceptable. The owners, for their part, tried their best to maintain the status quo, though they agreed in principle to go by the safety rules. That only 8,000 out of the 20,000 launches plying different routes have registration bears ample testimony to the anomalies that plague the sector as a whole.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

Nevertheless, people were expecting that at least the primary and avoidable causes of launch disasters would be eliminated by the operators. Installation of devices for weather monitoring might be a costly proposition, but it is not at all clear why a cardinal sin like overloading is still being committed without the slightest qualms. Similarly, it defies understanding how a vessel carrying over 500 humans could operate without a searchlight! We have clearly lost the right to blame misfortune when such glaring flaws exist in the navigational system.

Condoling the deaths is not enough. The government must appoint a probe body and find out how such a collision could take place, when a little more care and alertness on the part of the operators could have saved so many lives.