DHAKA — A Bangladesh ferry carrying around 50 passengers
collided with a cargo vessel and sank on Sunday in the Shitalakhsya River south
of the capital Dhaka, leaving at least 26 people dead and a few still missing,
officials said.
اضافة اعلان
Twenty one bodies had been recovered on Monday. The ferry
sank just after it departed from the industrial Narayanganj district about 20km
from Dhaka, to Munshiganj, said Mustain Billah, Narayanganj district
administrator.
"Most of the bodies were found inside the sunken boat
after it was dragged to the bank," he said, adding a few still could be
missing.
Police and officials said some of the passengers managed to
swim ashore.
Relatives gathered at the river bank to search for their
loved ones. Rescuers, including divers from the fire brigade, were searching
for survivors on Monday while salvage operations were hampered by a storm last
night.
The boat was packed with people rushing to leave the city
after the government announced a week-long nationwide lockdown from Monday to
tackle a spike in COVID-19 cases.
Bangladesh reported a record daily jump of 7,087 coronavirus
infections on Sunday, taking its total number of cases to 637,364 with 9,266
deaths.
Hundreds of people die each year in ferry accidents in
Bangladesh, a low-lying country that has extensive inland waterways but lax
safety standards.
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