Sundarbans, Sept 20 (V7N) – A 57-year-old Irish woman died while visiting the Sundarbans on Saturday morning. The tourist, identified as Carmel Noilin, was staying aboard a vessel docked at Kochikhali station in the Sundarbans East Forest Division when she passed away.

Forest officials said that Noilin, accompanied by her husband and other foreign travelers, had arrived in the Sundarbans on Friday aboard the tourist vessel MV Alaska. The group toured the Karamjal Wildlife Breeding and Tourist Center before anchoring overnight at Kochikhali. On Saturday morning, she suddenly fell ill and died on the ship.

Authorities from the Forest Department, Coast Guard, and River Police arrived at the scene after being notified. The River Police later recovered the body. Assistant Forest Conservator of Sharankhola Range, Rana Deb, stated that preliminary reports suggest the cause of death was a stroke related to heart complications. The body was taken into police custody and will be handed over to the family after completing legal procedures.

The incident has cast a pall over the tourist group. Local authorities confirmed that all necessary formalities are being carried out in coordination with the embassy.

Earlier, on September 13, a 16-year-old boy named Mahit Abdullah drowned while swimming at Dimar Char near Kochikhali Sanctuary during a family tour of the Sundarbans.

END/AHS/SMA/