Sunday 15 September 2013

Two bodies found, 15 missing as ferry capsizes in western Bangladesh


Two bodies were found and 15 people were still missing after a boat sank into the mighty river Padma in western Bangladesh Saturday evening, police and fire service said Sunday.

Abdur Rahman, a fire service official at Rajshahi district, some 256 km west of capital Dhaka, told Xinhua by phone Sunday morning that a overcrowded ferry carrying around 50 passengers sank into the mighty river Padma late Saturday afternoon due to rough weather.

Rahman said around 35 passengers swam to shore, but 15 others remained missing.

He said the rescuers of the fire service recovered the bodies of a kid and a man from the river.

The strong current of the mighty river was hampering the rescue operation, he said, adding that rescuers suspended the operation at 8 p.m. local time Saturday.

Fire service men feared the strong current might flush the bodies of the missing passenger to the downstream of the river.

Ferry and boat disasters are common in Bangladesh, which is crisscrossed by about 250 rivers. Ferry is still a key means of transport in the country. Most of the ferry boats are often overcrowded.

At least 112 bodies were recovered after a ferry capsized in Bangladesh's central Munshiganj district in March 2012.

Sunday 15 September 2013

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/811381.shtml

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