Thirty-one dead as Bangladesh ferry sinks
(Updates toll, adds details, quotes)
DHAKA, Feb 28 (Reuters) - At least 31 people died when a ferry was hit by a cargo vessel loaded with sand and capsized in a river near the Bangladesh capital on Thursday, police and witnesses said.
"So far 31 bodies have been recovered," a police officer said, adding the ferry was carrying more than 100 people.
Rescue efforts are on and the death toll could climb, witnesses said.
A salvage vessel is expected to arrive at the spot on the Buriganga river soon to pull out the sunken vessel, an official of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) said.
Rescuers said the sunken ferry, MV Shourav, was lying about 15 feet (five metres) underwater.
"More bodies may be stuck inside," one survivor said.
State-managed BIWTA still uses decades-old gear and takes much time to salvage sunken vessels, during which trapped bodies may decompose.
"It is very difficult to work in water with such a bad stench," a diver said. The Buriganga carries all the human refuse and garbage of the capital of nearly 11 million people.
But he said on the plus side the river is not very deep and does not have a very strong current at this time of year.
Hundreds of people gathered on the river banks to collect their dead and injured relatives. Many were seen wailing in sorrow.
A survivor said the victims could not escape as the ferry sank immediately after it was hit from the rear.
It was the first major ferry disaster in Bangladesh since May 2005, when 150 people were killed after a ferry with 200 passengers went down in a river during a storm.
Hundreds of Bangladeshis die in ferry accidents every year, mostly blamed on loading beyond the boats' listed capacity. (Reporting by Ruma Paul and Nizam Ahmed; Editing by Jerry Norton)
DHAKA, Feb 28 (Reuters) - At least 31 people died when a ferry was hit by a cargo vessel loaded with sand and capsized in a river near the Bangladesh capital on Thursday, police and witnesses said.
"So far 31 bodies have been recovered," a police officer said, adding the ferry was carrying more than 100 people.
Rescue efforts are on and the death toll could climb, witnesses said.
A salvage vessel is expected to arrive at the spot on the Buriganga river soon to pull out the sunken vessel, an official of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) said.
Rescuers said the sunken ferry, MV Shourav, was lying about 15 feet (five metres) underwater.
"More bodies may be stuck inside," one survivor said.
State-managed BIWTA still uses decades-old gear and takes much time to salvage sunken vessels, during which trapped bodies may decompose.
"It is very difficult to work in water with such a bad stench," a diver said. The Buriganga carries all the human refuse and garbage of the capital of nearly 11 million people.
But he said on the plus side the river is not very deep and does not have a very strong current at this time of year.
Hundreds of people gathered on the river banks to collect their dead and injured relatives. Many were seen wailing in sorrow.
A survivor said the victims could not escape as the ferry sank immediately after it was hit from the rear.
It was the first major ferry disaster in Bangladesh since May 2005, when 150 people were killed after a ferry with 200 passengers went down in a river during a storm.
Hundreds of Bangladeshis die in ferry accidents every year, mostly blamed on loading beyond the boats' listed capacity. (Reporting by Ruma Paul and Nizam Ahmed; Editing by Jerry Norton)
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
Farmers endure 'harvest from hell'