At least 10 people, including a child, on drowned and hundreds were missing when an overcrowded ferry carrying over 200 passengers capsized in a storm in Bangladesh's Meghna river.
Ten bodies have been recovered and a search is underway for the other passengers after the MV Miraj-4 ferry sank in the Meghna river in Munshiganj district this afternoon during a seasonal nor'wester storm.
"The storm hit it (ferry) over an hour after it left Dhaka's Sadarghat ferry terminal for its destination at (southwestern) Shariatpur," Deputy Commissioner of Munshiganj district Saiful Hassan told reporters.
"The (death) toll now stands at 10," he said, adding that it was still not clear exactly how many passengers were on the ferry but the number could range from 200 to 350 as it sank mid-river.
Shipping officials said two salvage vessels were on their way to the scene from nearby river port town of Narayanganj to locate and retrieve the sunken ferry. Police said fire service rescuers and local people recovered the bodies.
"The search campaign is underway," a police official told newsmen at the scene. The accident comes less than two weeks after another passenger ferry with over 70 people capsized during a seasonal storm in southwestern Bangladesh.
The nor'westers, locally known as 'Kalboishakhi', often hit Bangladesh during the early summer months before the monsoon.
Ferry accidents are common in riverine Bangladesh, which is criss-crossed by some 340 rivers, particularly during the monsoon season with experts blaming poorly maintained vessels, flaws in boat design and overcrowding for most of the tragedies.
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