DHAKA (Reuters) – At least one person died and dozens went missing after a small ferry packed with passengers collided with a cargo vessel and sank on Sunday on the Shitalakhsya River in central Bangladesh, the latest waterway tragedy to hit the nation.
One body has been recovered, said local police official Deepak Chandra Saha. Rescue operations for those missing were ongoing, according to Monjurul Hafiz, district administrator for Narayanganj where the accident occurred.
Police said they did not know the exact number of people missing, but passengers said more than 50 people had been on board, and some had managed to swim ashore.
Hundreds of people die each year in ferry accidents in Bangladesh, a low-lying South Asian country that has extensive inland waterways but lax safety standards.
In December, at least 41 people were killed and dozens injured after a packed ferry caught fire.
(Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
