DHAKA, 10 June 2006 — At least 38 people went missing, many of them feared drowned, when a ferry sank in the Bay of Bengal while entering the Kumiraghat channel in southeastern Chittagong, reports said yesterday.
Official sources said the Sitakundu-bound M.V. Rifat, sailing from Sandwip with around 73 people, capsized while it was approaching the channel at about 12.30 p.m.
Rescuers recovered 18 bodies, including five those of children, till yesterday evening. “Some 20 people were still missing,” said a local source, adding that around 35 of the passengers managed to swim ashore after the ferry disaster.
In another ferry accident earlier in the day, an engine-propelled boat, with 45 people and cargo, capsized in the Sandwip Channel.
Most of the passengers managed to swim ashore. Three people were unaccounted for when the last report came in around 5 p.m.
