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DPA
Dhaka
At least 15 people have died after a passenger ferry capsized on a river near the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, officials said on Monday.
Divers found the 15 bodies adrift more than two hours after the ferry sank in the Buriganga river, according to Mohamad Shahjahan, spokesman of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).
Divers from the navy, fire service and civil defence department have managed to locate the sunken vessel on the riverbed, he added.
The ferry went down after colliding with another passenger ferry in the morning near Farazganj, said Golam Sadeq, the chief of Bangladesh's Inland Water Transport Authority.
He told local media that 10 to 15 passengers on the ferry, the ML Morning Bird, had managed to swim ashore while the rest went missing.
BIWTA said there were at least 50 passengers on board, but a survivor told private broadcaster 71 Television that the vessel was carrying at least 100 passengers.
The survivor said he was travelling to Dhaka along with his brother who is still missing. They had set out from his village home in the central district of Munshiganj, 30 kilometres south of Dhaka.
Serious accidents involving boats and ships and leading to fatalities are quite common in Bangladesh, a country of many rivers.
Experts blame poor safety measures and the lax implementation of regulations.
Dhaka
At least 15 people have died after a passenger ferry capsized on a river near the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, officials said on Monday.
Divers found the 15 bodies adrift more than two hours after the ferry sank in the Buriganga river, according to Mohamad Shahjahan, spokesman of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).
Divers from the navy, fire service and civil defence department have managed to locate the sunken vessel on the riverbed, he added.
The ferry went down after colliding with another passenger ferry in the morning near Farazganj, said Golam Sadeq, the chief of Bangladesh's Inland Water Transport Authority.
He told local media that 10 to 15 passengers on the ferry, the ML Morning Bird, had managed to swim ashore while the rest went missing.
BIWTA said there were at least 50 passengers on board, but a survivor told private broadcaster 71 Television that the vessel was carrying at least 100 passengers.
The survivor said he was travelling to Dhaka along with his brother who is still missing. They had set out from his village home in the central district of Munshiganj, 30 kilometres south of Dhaka.
Serious accidents involving boats and ships and leading to fatalities are quite common in Bangladesh, a country of many rivers.
Experts blame poor safety measures and the lax implementation of regulations.
