PATURIA: Sixteen people including a baby are confirmed dead and rescuers are still searching for missing passengers after a ferry collided with a cargo ship and sank Sunday in a Bangladesh river, officials said.
It was the second deadly boat accident in less than a fortnight in the country, which has a history of ferry tragedies.
Rescue workers had recovered 16 bodies including an infant and two women, local administrator Rashida Ferdous told AFP, adding that she did not know the exact number of people missing.
She said a salvage vessel was on its way to raise the sunken vessel, adding that the master of the cargo ship and two other crew had been arrested.
Survivors said the twin-deck MV Mostofa was carrying between 70-150 passengers when it capsized in the middle of the Padma river, local police chief Rakibuz Zaman told AFP.
“Some 50 people swam ashore or were rescued by other vessels,” he added.
The vessel was reportedly heading to the town of Paturia in Manikganj district, some 70 kilometres (50 miles) from the capital Dhaka, from Rajbari district.