Death toll rises to 112 after ferry capsizes in Bangladesh

[News_Editor]

Death toll rises to 112 after ferry capsizes in Bangladesh

2012-03-14 23:09:17 GMT+7 (ICT)

GAZARIA, Bangladesh (BNO NEWS) -- The death toll has risen to at least 112 after a ferry capsized in central Bangladesh on early Tuesday morning, officials said on Wednesday. More than 100 people are believed to remain missing.

The incident occurred at around 2:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday when the Dhaka-bound MV Shariatpur-1 ferry capsized and sunk after being struck by a cargo vessel carrying sand on the Meghna River in Gazaria Upazila of Munshiganj District, which is located in the country's Dhaka Division.

There was no official passenger list, but authorities believe between 250 and 300 people were on board the ferry. Between 30 and 50 passengers are believed to have swam to shore or were rescued by fishing vessels, but the vast majority of those on board are believed to have drowned.

Search-and-rescue workers recovered 36 bodies on Tuesday, but another 76 bodies were recovered on early Wednesday morning after a crane was able to lift up the wreckage of the ferry, raising the overall death toll to at least 112. As many as an estimated 140 people could still be missing.

The cause of the accident remains unknown. Local government officials have set up a five-member committee, led by Shipping Ministry joint secretary Md Baitul Amin Bhuiyan, to investigate the cause of the disaster. A preliminary report is expected within 5 days.

Ferry and boat accidents happen frequently in Bangladesh, which is criss-crossed by more than 250 rivers. In January, up to 10 people were killed when an overloaded boat capsized on the Karnaphuli river in southeastern Bangladesh.

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