Bangladesh: Several dead after ferry capsizes in river

At least 10 people drowned after a ferry in Bangladesh capsized after colliding wtih another vessel on Wednesday, officials said.

Local government official Abdul Khalek said rescuers retrieved the bodies of five women and five children after the boat sank in the Gumai river in northern Bangladesh.

Read more: Disaster turns spotlight on ferry safety in Bangladesh

The boat was carrying at least 35 passengers, and 15 people are still believed missing, Khalek told dpa news agency.  A handful of the passengers managed to swim ashore.

Khalek added that such locally made boats do not have licenses to operate on river routes and never keep passenger manifests, or records of who is on board.

The boats are used to transport passengers from one remote village to the other. Divers from the fire service and Civil Defense department have launched a search operation.

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Hundreds of people die each year in ferry accidents in Bangladesh — a low-lying country with several rivers and loose or often-overlooked safety standards.

In June, at least 32 people died after the passenger boat they were on collided with a ferry and capsized in the capital Dhaka. The boat, called the Morning Bird, had been carrying more than 50 passengers at the time.

Read more: Death toll rises in Bangladesh ferry accident

At least 15 people drowned in February after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees capsized off the coast of Bangladesh. In 2014, an overloaded ferry carrying over 300 passengers capsized and left at least 100 people dead or missing.

lc/rt (dpa, Reuters)