A boat carrying 18,000 kg rice meant for distributing among the flood-hit people here under the vulnerable group feeding (VGF) programme sank in the Surma River in Sadar upazila in Sunamganj on Sunday night.

Food controller of Sadar upazila Shaheen Ahmed said they loaded the boat with 360 sacks of rice, each carrying 50 kg, on Sunday evening for distributing among the flood victims in Rangarchar union in the upazila. Later, it was anchored in the riverbank at Mollikpur Gudmaghat of the district town, reports UNB.

However, the boat capsized in the river as a nor'wester lashed the upazila on Sunday night.

On information, a team of divers from the fire service rushed in and started work around 2pm on Monday to recover the rice, said Deputy Commissioner of Sunamganj Sheikh Rafiqul Islam.

He also said they will distribute the relief among the affected people under a special arrangement. ‘This incident will have no impact on the relief activities.’