A ferry packed with about 100 people capsized Friday in a river in central Bangladesh after colliding with another boat, police and news reports said.
(Photo: globalnews.ca) A Bangladesh ferry
Police said there were no immediate reports of casualties after the ferry, MV Sarash, sent down on the River Meghna in Munshiganj district, 32 kilometres south of Dhaka.
The private television station Channel-I said local villagers rescued more than 40 people after the accident.
Several other people were able to swim to shore, the report said. The ferry was on a local run from Narayanganj city to Matlab in the south. Ferry accidents are common in Bangladesh, a delta nation of 153 million people.
Friday, 08 February, 2013 at 06:40 (06:40 AM) UTC
News Reports
Reuters – “A ferry carrying more than 50 people sank on Bangladesh’s giant Meghna River on Friday after colliding with a sand barge and dozens were missing, officials said.
About half the passengers managed to swim ashore and a search had been launched, said Mohammad Saiful Hassan Badal, administrator of Munshiganj district, where the accident happened.
The Meghna River is one of three rivers that form the Ganges Delta.
Survivors said the ferry was carrying around 100 people. District officials said it was not overloaded.
Unregulated and overcrowded ferries often run in to trouble on low-lying Bangladesh’s extensive network of rivers. Hundreds of people are killed in accidents every year despite government vows to crack down on unlicensed operators.”
Goaty's News (UK) 