Bangladesh ferry accident kills at least 23
Reuters
Jun 29, 2020 08:55 MYT
Jun 29, 2020 08:55 MYT
Dead bodies are seen piled up on a boat after a passenger ferry capsized in the river Buriganga in Dhaka, Bangladesh, June 29, 2020 - REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain
At least 23 ferry passengers were killed in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka on Monday when the vessel sank after a collision, officials said.
The boat had around 50 passengers aboard when it capsized in the Buriganga river that runs along southwest Dhaka, Shahjahan Shikder, a fire service official told Reuters.
The dead include six women and three children, he added.
Some passengers swam ashore to safety but some were missing.
"So far, we have recovered 23 bodies and are looking for those missing," Shikder said.
Hundreds of people die each year in ferry accidents in Bangladesh, a low-lying country that has extensive inland waterways but slack safety standards.