100 rescued after Bangladesh ferry sinks

BANGLADESH: A ferry carrying around 100 passengers sank off the coast of the southern Bangladesh island of Bhola on Sunday, but all those aboard were rescued, police said.

The ferry, dubbed the M.V. Nazrin Akhter, started to sink near a landing station on the river Tentulia after it hit a log on the river bed, additional superintendent of police Mohammad Asaduzzaman told AFP.

Fishermen whose boats were anchored at the Sreepur landing station, located some 220 kilometres (135 miles) south of the capital Dhaka, rescued most of the passengers, while others swam ashore on their own, he said.

"So far we have no reports of any missing passengers," he said, adding authorities were trying to salvage the ferry.

Ferry accidents are common in Bangladesh, which is criss-crossed by a network of 230 rivers.

Dhaka, Monday, AFP