27 dead in Bangladesh boat accident

BANGLADESH: Twenty seven people died in southern Bangladesh Thursday after a ferry carrying more than 100 passengers collided with a cargo boat and capsized, an official said.

District administrator Mussfiq Ahmed Shamim told AFP the bodies had been recovered by divers in a search mission that went into the night after the small ferry was hit by a sand-laden boat on the river Kirtankhola in dense early morning fog.

“We have called off the search for the evening and have recovered 27 dead bodies. Some more — perhaps two or three — may surface in the morning,” he said. Earlier reports estimated that as many as half the passengers had been killed in the accident. Local police chief Nuruzzaman Chowdhury said survivors told authorities about half of the passengers swam ashore after the accident.

Boat and ferry accidents due to poor safety standards and overloading are common in Bangladesh, which is criss-crossed by a network of 230 rivers.

DHAKA, Friday, AFP