An overcrowded Bangladeshi ferry carrying 200 passengers on board capsized on Sunday in Padma river, 70 kilometres north of the capital city of Dhaka. At least 65 people have been reported killed. The ferry began sailing from Daulatdia in Rajbari and was headed for Paturia.
Manikganj district police superintendent Bidhan Tripura told Reuters that the mishap occurred when a cargo trawler hit the ferry.
While 100 passengers have been rescued so far, firemen and the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority are assisting the police in their effort to salvage the ferry.Of the deceased, seven were children, including a 7-month-old baby girl," Zillur Rahmanm, assistant general manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority was quoted as saying by CNN.
Ferry disasters are quite common in the low-lying Bangladesh with extensive inland waterways. Incompetent safety standards also results in deaths that sometimes cross hundreds.
In August 2014, for example, a Bangladeshi passenger ferry carrying around 250 people had capsized in river Padma. While at least 44 passengers were rescued from the vessel, many had gone missing. Meanwhile in May, at least 12 passengers died when a ferry with about 300 on board capsized in river Meghna, CNN had reported.
