Search continues for ferry victims
Rescuers resumed their search today for about 150 passengers still missing after a river ferry capsized in a tropical storm in south-eastern Bangladesh, as the confirmed death toll rose to 20.
Officials worked to pull the overturned boat from the River Meghna, fearing that many passengers had been trapped inside when the double-deck ferry capsized yesterday near Chandpur town, carrying about 250 people.
Other bodies may have been washed away by strong currents, rescue officials said.
Hundreds of anxious relatives thronged the banks of the river to look for loved ones.
Rescuers estimated that asmany as 80 people swam ashore safely, and said that seven injured passengers had been rescued from inside the vessel.
“The number of survivors seems to be higher than we earlier thought,” a rescue official said.
Fifteen bodies were recovered yesterday and another five bodies were found early today.
Many of the passengers on the ferry were asleep when the accident happened and were believed to have been trapped inside, said Mohammad Dulal Miah, a police officer at the scene.
The boat was travelling from south-western Madaripur district to Dhaka, the capital.
