DHAKA, Bangladesh

A Chinese engineer working at a big bridge project on a mighty river near Bangladesh's capital Dhaka has gone missing since Tuesday night, according to police and official sources.

Joining the team nearly six months ago, 25-year-old Zoe has been working at the Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project, the highest-ever under-construction bridge in Bangladesh that is close to finish.

“Last time our people saw him on a barge in the river near the bridge Tuesday night. But none of us has confirmed whether he has fallen into the river,” Dewan Abdul Kader, executive engineer of the mega project, told Anadolu Agency.

He added that the coast guard teams and river police searched around the project site across the river whole night but did not trace him.

“Since early this morning (Wednesday), divers of Fire Service and Civil Defense as well as army and navy also joined the search but we have not detected any clue yet,” Kader said over phone.

He also warned that if the Chinese citizen fell into the river, it would be very hard to find him as Padma is one of the biggest rivers of the country and it is now in its toughest course with heavy flow of water due to the monsoon impact.

“We are also considering other options like kidnapping by any criminal gang,” he said, adding that so many foreign nationals, mostly Chinese, have been working in this project in the last couple of years and this is the first missing case.

Meanwhile, local Louhajong police station chief Mohammad Alamgir Hossain told Anadolu Agency that nobody saw the Chinese engineer falling into the river. “But at first it seems that he fell into the river.”

He added: “If anyone falls in this river at this period and dies, the dead body may be moved to any remote area due to the heavy flow of water of the river.”

The Padma Bridge is a multipurpose road-rail bridge across the Padma river that will connect the capital Dhaka with the country's south and southwestern regions and play a significant role in the country's overall economy.

The length of the main bridge is 6.15 kilometers (3.82 miles) and this is the highest-ever multipurpose bridge and Bangladesh for the first time has mobilized its own resources to do such a billion-dollar project.

According to the latest deadline set by the government, the bridge will be okayed for public use by June 2022. ​​​​​​​