Cyclone disaster claims 81
2005-02-20 19:27
Dhaka - Eighty one people are confirmed dead and at least 100 more are missing after a ferry capsized when it was hit by a cyclone overnight near the Bangladesh capital Dhaka, police said Sunday.
Thousands of relatives, many distraught, gathered near the scene of the tragedy to await news of missing family members.
Some survivors contradicted the official figure for the missing, saying up to 500 people could have been on board.
Fire service and police divers found 41 bodies Sunday, bringing the total number of corpses recovered to 78 after the accident in the Buriganga river on the outskirts of Dhaka.
"Our father, two cousins and three other relatives are dead, Five more relatives are missing," said two brothers, both in tears, who gave their names as Naser and Mannan.
The party of 13 people had been travelling to a wedding, they said.
Delwar Husain said he saved his life by jumping from the deck of the boat, although his 20-year-old daughter Beauty died.
"It was chaos. I lost my daughter. Then I jumped and swam to the shore," he said.
Another survivor, Shahidul Islam, 45, said he had identified the body of his brother-in-law. "I think there were between 450 and 500 passengers on the launch," he said.
"The wind came out of nowhere. I tried to hold my brother-in-law's hand as I jumped but it was dark and everything was confused and he got lost."
Police said they believed about 200 people were on board the boat, the MV Maharaj.
The accident happened at Pagla Bazar when the ferry was caught in a pre-monsoon cyclone while sailing from the capital to the central town of Chandpur.
"Some of the passengers who survived said that it capsized immediately after the cyclone hit, trapping them inside," said traffic inspector Mohiuddin, from the Dhaka Ferry Terminal.
The vessel was registered as having 167 people on board, he said, but the true number could be higher as ferries in Bangladesh are often overcrowded.
Navy Lieutenant Commander Mahbubul Rashid, in charge of the salvage operation, said it was not clear if more bodies were trapped inside the lower part of the two-deck vessel.
"We have removed many bodies but it is now becoming difficult and we do not know if there are more bodies inside; we will continue for as long as we can," he said.
Shipping Minister Akbar Hossain visited the scene. He said new measures to reduce the high death toll on the nation's rivers, which had been due to come into force at the end of April, would be implemented immediately.
They include modernisation of old ferries, extra checks to ensure safety certificates are up to date and monitoring to prevent overloading.
As part of the project, 11 weather forecasting stations are also due to be set up along main rivers.