44. (1) A shipping casualty shall be deemed to occur when-(a) any inland ship is lost, wrecked, abandoned or materially damaged;(b) any loss of life or property ensues by reason of any casualty happening to or on board any such ship; or(c) any such ship causes loss or material damage to any other inland ship or property or person on board that ship. (2) Every shipping casualty shall forthwith and, if this be not possible, within twenty-four hours of its occurrence, be reported to the officer in charge of the nearest police station by the master of the inland ship and, where more inland ships than one are involved, by the master of each such ship or other person or persons in charge thereof and, in the absence or physical inability of such master or persons, by any member of the crew of the ship or ships ¹[or by any passenger of the ship or ships or any other person having the knowledge of such casualty]. (3) Upon receipt of the report of a shipping casualty under sub-section (2) ²[or upon receipt of any information from any reliable source], the officer in charge of the police station shall, as soon as possible, and in any case not later than ³[twelve hours] of the occurrence of the casualty, make a report in writing of the facts and circumstances of the casualty to the Government, ⁴[Director-General,] the District Magistrate and the ⁵[Upazilla Nirbahi Officer] within the limits of whose jurisdiction the casualty has occurred.