Dhaka: Authorities said on Monday that rescuers have located a bus that plunged into a river on the outskirts of Dhaka a day earlier.
"The bus has been located under deep waters [and] efforts are underway to salvage it,” a police official at the scene told Gulf News.
He added that only one body has been recovered from the vehicle so far, but rescuers expect more to be found once it is salvaged.
Some 40 people are feared missing after the bus plunged into the Turag at Amin Bazar area, a major gateway to the capital city from northwestern Bangladesh. The bus was carrying 50 people.
An overnight salvage campaign, carried out by army troops and navy divers, along with fire service rescuers, using Sound Navigation and Ranging (Sonar) machines and search lights, made little headway until Monday afternoon.
Witnesses to the scene of the crash said the vehicle had plunged into the Turag River as it approached a bridge at the Salehpur area on the Dhaka-Aricha highway. It was on its way to Savar from the capital city.
A total of eight passengers swam ashore or were rescued by residents. One of them, a university student, was declared dead at a nearby hospital despite being rushed there by emergency services.
A local resident, who witnessed the crash, said the bus had skidded off the road, as its driver visibly lost control of the wheel while approaching the narrow bridge.
Hundreds of people, including relatives of the missing passengers on Monday were still crowding around the banks of the river, as efforts to pull the bus out of the water continued.
The crash scene is a well known danger spot for drivers. An accident involving happened two years ago at exactly the same spot, when a bus carrying them to Dhaka from Savar crashed. A total of 30 people died.
