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Ghoradigha, Bangladesh: At least 44 people are confirmed dead and many more missing after a ferry carrying nearly 150 passengers capsized in Bangladesh, police officials and witnesses said on Tuesday.
Fire service divers were battling strong currents and other problems to search for survivors from the M.V. Nazimuddin which sank in the Ghorautra river, Kishoreganj, about 180 km from Dhaka, on Monday afternoon.
Salvage experts said more bodies were likely trapped inside the ferry. The boat was also overloaded and had its windows shut during the sudden storm on Monday afternoon, preventing passengers from getting out quickly, they said.
Around 2,000 people, including many distraught relatives of dead or missing passengers, had gathered on the riverbank.
"We are continuing our efforts to salvage the sunken ferry today," said Mohammad Jahangir Alam, the officer in charge of Nikli police station in Kishoreganj district, northeast of the capital, Dhaka.
Alam said that, of nearly 150 passengers aboard, only about 25 had managed to swim ashore.
Rescue vessels of the state-run Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority rushed to the spot but strong currents in the river hampered their efforts, witnesses said.
Fire fighters, police and volunteers were also trying to help with rescue and salvage efforts, local newspaper reports said. Senior police and army officials visited the scene, they said.
Rescuers said the single-deck vessel was lodged nearly 16 metres under the water and the task of hauling it up and closer to shore presented a challenge.
"But we will finish the job as soon as possible," Alam said over telephone.
Ferry accidents occur frequently in riverine Bangladesh and hundreds of people die every year.
Poor enforcement of safety laws means boats are often badly serviced and generally packed well beyond capacity.
"Many people have gathered on the banks of the river. Many of them are wailing for those who have died or are missing," said Kishoreganj district police chief Mizanur Rahman.
Lack of electricity
"The divers tried to retrieve bodies at night with the aid of search lights but the strong current and the lack of electricity in the area made their work virtually impossible," he said.
Bangladesh is criss-crossed by a network of 230 rivers. It is estimated that more than 3,000 people have lost their lives to ferry accidents since 1977.
In the last major ferry accidents, some 110 people died in two separate incidents within days of each other in May 2005.
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