Seven crew members were killed in a brutal attack aboard a bulk carrier in the Meghna in Chandpur early yesterday.

Unidentified assailants stabbed the victims in their sleep with sharp weapons on MV Al-Bakhera, police said based on initial findings.

The vessel laden with fertiliser had run aground in Haimchar area.

Responding to a 999 call, a team of river police went to the vessel around 3:00pm and recovered five bodies from crew quarters, said Superintendent of Chandpur River Police Md Mushfiqur Rahman.

"The assailants attacked the victims with sharp weapons and left … They did not take anything," he told The Daily Star over the phone, adding that the attack was probably carried out early yesterday.

Three critically injured individuals were also rescued, but two of them died at the Chandpur 250-Bed General Hospital.

Lone survivor Jewel Rana, 23, of Faridpur, was transferred to Dhaka for better medical care.

Jewel's throat was slit.

Police tried to talk to him, but he could not talk. He could only write his name and a mobile phone number on a piece of paper before he was rushed to Dhaka in an ambulance.

Upon reaching Dhaka Medical College Hospital around 8:00pm, Jewel underwent a surgery and an artificial breathing tube was inserted in this throat, reports our DMCH correspondent.

Doctor Siraj Salek said Jewel lost a lot of blood and his treatment and recovery would take time. 

Among the dead are MV Al-Bakhera master Kibria, 60, engine operator Salauddin, 55, helmsman Aminul Munsi, 40, and crew members Sajibul, 35, Azizul, 40, and Majedul Islam.

Doctor Md Anisur Rahman, a resident at the Chandpur 250-Bed General Hospital, said all the victims were stabbed and all but one died of blood loss.

Mahbub Morshed Diplu, a partner of the ship's owning firm Bristy Enterprise, said MV Al-Bakhera, manned by eight crew members, had loaded 720 tonnes of urea fertiliser from the KAFCO jetty on the southern bank of the Karnaphuli on Saturday night and set sail for Baghabari in Sirajganj on Sunday morning.

He told The Daily Star that they last spoke to engine operator Salahuddin around 8:30pm on Sunday. He said Salahuddin told them that MV Al-Bakhera was in a convoy of 40 to 50 vessels.

Diplu said there was nothing unusual about the phone conversation.

"When we tried to contact the vessel yesterday morning, no one responded," Diplu told The Daily Star. They later asked a nearby vessel, MV Mugni-3, to have their crew members go to MV Al-Bakhera and see what was wrong.

The crew members of MV Mugni-3 discovered the bodies and the wounded in the afternoon and called 999, he added.

Nazmul Hossain Rubel, manager (operation) of MV Al-Bakhera's local agent SS Shippers and Traders, said they usually call the master of the vessel at 10:00am every morning when the ship is in passage. Failing to contact the master, they informed the owner.

After visiting the scene, Additional Superintendent of Police of Chandpur Sudipto Roy in the evening said they were not considering it as a case of robbery. It appears to be a premeditated murder, he said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industries has expressed condolences to the families of the crew members.

It also formed a probe committee.

In a statement, it said the 4-member committee led by an additional secretary of the ministry was instructed to submit a report within the next five working days clearly mentioning the motive, the extent of damage and liability, and how to prevent such incidents in future.