Two workers were killed after a passenger launch collided with a watermelon-laden trawler and plunged it in the Lohalia River in Patuakhali’s Bauphal upazila early Wednesday.

The deceased were identified as Rezaul Karim, 28, and Nasir Fakir, 42, both residents of Rangabali upazila. They were working as labourers transporting watermelons.

According to locals, the trawler, carrying a consignment of watermelons from Rangabali to Dhaka, came under impact when a double-decker launch, MV Awlad-7, heading from Dhaka to Patuakhali, struck it near Bamnakathi area under Boga union in the early hours.

The collision caused the trawler to sink instantly. While several passengers managed to swim ashore, the two victims, who were reportedly asleep inside the vessel at the time, went missing.

Police later recovered the bodies and sent them to the morgue for autopsy.

Bauphal Police Station officer-in-charge (Investigation) Atikul Islam said legal procedures are underway in connection with the incident.