At least 114 dead in Bangladesh ferry disaster
Divers found 32 more bodies today to boost the death toll in a weekend ferry sinking to 114, as rescuers searched for dozens more people missing in a river near the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka.
The MV Maharaj was carrying about 200 people when it capsized during a storm late on Saturday on the Buriganga River. Eighty-two bodies were found yesterday before rescue work was suspended for darkness and 32 bodies were found early today, said Lt Commander Mahbubur Rashid, a navy officer supervising the search.
More bodies were feared trapped inside the sunken, double-decker ship, and rescuers hoped to pull the wreckage out of the water later today, he said.
“The accident happened in darkness and it’s still unclear how many people died or survived,” said Mahbubur Rahman, a local government official.
The bodies of victims ranging in age from from infants were lined up in rows on a field near the banks of the river, and thousands of anxious people gathered there to identify their kin.
Grieving relatives had claimed 74 of the bodies for funerals, rescuers said.
President Iajuddin Ahmed urged authorities to speed up rescue work, and ordered an investigation into the accident.
Many of the passengers were on their way home ahead of a two-day public holiday when the boat sank. Some of the passengers were rescued by villagers and fishing boats.
The vessel was about 30 minutes into its journey from Dhaka to the eastern town of Chandpur when gusty winds struck just before midnight on Saturday. It capsized and sank near the town of Pagla.
