Ferry toll 80, dozens missing

2004-05-26 10:54

Dhaka, Bangladesh - The death toll from a weekend ferry accident in southeastern Bangladesh rose to 80 on Wednesday after six more bodies were recovered overnight, an official said. Dozens of others remained missing and were presumed dead.

The bodies were found floating in the Meghna River by relatives and volunteers after official rescue efforts were halted on Tuesday, said Abdur Rab Hawlader, district administrator of Chandpur, the accident site, about 65km east of the capital, Dhaka.

The official search operation was called off on Tuesday after a salvage vessel towed the wreckage ashore late on Monday and no more bodies were found inside.

Hawlader said there was no hope of finding any more survivors, and many of the bodies may have been washed downstream.

The number of passengers on the double-deck ferry, MV Lighting Sun, which capsized on Sunday in a tropical storm, is unclear. Local ferries do not keep passenger lists.

Officials initially estimated about 250 people were on board, based on information from relatives and survivors. But rescue official Mohammad Amir Hossain said on Tuesday the actual figure may be much lower.

Thirteen bodies were found on Tuesday on the banks of the river, while 46 bodies were recovered on Monday and 15 on Sunday.

Eleven unidentified decomposed bodies were buried at a Chandpur graveyard, while nearly 40 bodies were sent to southwestern Madaripur district, where the ferry began its journey, Hawlader said.

Many of the passengers were villagers from Madaripur - mostly migrant workers and their families and small traders - travelling to Dhaka.

Nearly 80 people swam ashore or were picked up by boats after the ferry capsized. Seven survivors were rescued from inside the vessel's upturned hull.

The government has ordered an investigation and three crew members were detained for questioning on Monday.

Rescue authorities, meanwhile, were trying to locate another smaller ferry which also capsized near Chandpur in Sunday's storm with 25 people on board.

But most of the passengers on the MV Diganta, which was travelling from southern Barisal district to Narayanganj near Dhaka, are believed to have survived, Hossain said on Wednesday.

Ferry accidents are common in this South Asian nation criss-crossed by rivers. A ferry capsized in Chandpur during a storm in July last year, killing more than 500 people.

- AP