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DHAKA, Monday (Reuters) Rescue workers combed choppy river waters on Thursday for some 400 people missing and feared dead after a Bangladesh ferry was sucked into a whirlpool in the the country's latest river accident.

The triple-decker M.V. Nasreen ferry nosedived into the Meghna river near Chandpur town around midnight on Tuesday while many of its passengers were sleeping, as it headed to coastal Barisal district from the capital Dhaka.

Three bodies were found on Wednesday and one injured passenger died in hospital. Around 200 people were rescued by fishing boats or managed to reach the shore, police and officials said.

Grieving relatives, swarming the river bank saw two more bodies floating away on Thursday, but could not retrieve them due to swirling currents in the river, which is about 60 metres deep (200 feet) at the accident spot, local reporters said.

Police said one salvage vessel had been waiting since Wednesday near the scene but was unable to lay anchor and begin a search for the ferry.

Chandpur, 170 km (106 miles) by road from Dhaka, has been the scene of repeated ferry accidents routinely blamed on overcrowding, faulty structure or neglect of safety regulations. Police said a second rescue vessel sailed to Chandpur early on Thursday, but the operation had yet to get started due to strong currents.

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