Bangladesh: 31 dead in shipwreck – 10 children’s bodies recovered

Bangladesh ferry capsizes, 31 dead in one of the country’s worst maritime tragedies in recent years. So far, the bodies of 16 women and 10 children have been recovered, said Jahurul Islam, district governor in northern Panchagarh, where the accident happened.

“Another six bodies were recovered in the morning” as “divers search for more bodies”, he explained, adding that the ferry had been carrying mostly Hindu pilgrims going to a temple on the occasion of the Mahalaya festival, when Hindus make offerings in memory of their ancestors .

According to Mr. Islam, the authorities are trying to compile a list of the missing based on information provided by relatives. According to survivors, the boat had more than 70 people on board when it capsized and sank in the middle of the Karatoya River.

A five-member committee was set up to investigate the accident, which on early indications were due to overloading of the ferry reports APE-MPE, citing Reuters and AFP.

According to the Police, some of the passengers were able to swim to shore and save themselves, while others were rescued. Its waters river it was calm when the accident happened.

Hundreds of people die each year in boating accidents in Bangladesh, a low-lying country criss-crossed by many rivers. Adherence to water transport safety rules is poor in the country.

Endless list of tragedies

The tragedy adds to the long list of similar disasters in the country of 170 million people. In December, over 40 people went missing when a fire broke out on a ferry crowded in the southern part of the country.

In June 2021 another ferry sank after colliding with another shipwith the official death toll reaching 32.

In April 2021 at least 34 people died when another overloaded ferry collided with a truck ship and sank in a river, not far from the capital Dhaka.

At least 78 people died in February 2015, when an overcrowded ferry collided with a cargo ship west of the capital.