DHAKA, 16 May 2005 — A passenger ferry capsized in Bangladesh yesterday, killing at least 11 people and leaving about 50 others missing, sources said.
The double-deck ferry capsized and sank in the mouth of the Bura Gauranga River after a strong wind struck it in Patuakhali district, 152 km south of the capital, Dhaka, the area’s chief administrator, Mejbahuddin said.
“M.V. Prince of Patuakhali sank in stormy weather, and few have been rescued or swam to safety,” a police officer said.
Police and villagers pulled out 11 bodies, including four children, from the river where hundreds of people gathered to search for missing relatives, witnesses said. More bodies were feared trapped inside the sunken ferry, which was yet to be located.
Strong currents were interfering with the rescue operation, Mejbahuddin said.
A Bangladesh Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) official said a witness had reported 50 people had swum to safety or had been rescued by vessels in the area.
The ferry was carrying more than 150 passengers toward Char Montaj from the coastal town of Patuakhali, he said. The accident occurred close to the sea in Golapchipa, about 40 km east of Patuakhali.
Angry Residents Burn Vehicles After Accident
Angry residents blocked a road and set fire to several vehicles yesterday after a bus struck and critically injured a schoolboy in Bangladesh’s capital, police said.
Nahid Hasan, 8, was on his way home when the bus hit him, causing severe injuries to his head and leg, Joynuddin Khan, an on-duty official at state-run Pongu Hospital said. Some passers-by took the unconscious boy to the hospital after the accident, he said.
Police, citing local residents, had earlier said that the boy was killed at the scene and his body taken away.
The residents stopped the bus and set it on fire before damaging several other vehicles in Dhaka’s Agargaon area, a police official said on condition of anonymity. They also blocked the road for at least three hours.
Police used batons to disperse the protesters and reopen the road. No one was arrested, he said.
In Bangladesh about 4,000 people die every year in road accidents, caused mainly by reckless driving and ignorance of traffic rules.
