Bangladesh Ferry Capsizes with about 200 Passengers Aboard, 2 Bodies Recovered

Dhaka (PNA/Xinhua) — Two bodies had been recovered shortly after an overloaded ferry carrying some 200 passengers sank Friday afternoon in the middle of a river in southern Bangladesh, police said.

“Bodies of two passengers have been recovered,” said a police officer who preferred to be unnamed.

He said that the wooden ferry, carrying some 150-200 passengers, capsized in Payra river at around 1:15 p.m. local time Friday. A rescue vessel has been called in to boost local efforts to salvage the ferry, said the officer.

The ferry capsized as it developed cracks after it struck a submerged island, he added.

According to the officer, the authorities still don’t know how many people remained missing.

But the officer confirmed that most of the passengers, who survived by swimming, were rescued shortly after the ferry capsized at a confluence of the river in Borguna district, some 300 km south of capital Dhaka. (PNA/Xinhua) CTB/RSM