23 dead after boat sinks in Bangladesh: police
At least 23 people were killed and dozens were missing after a boat packed with passengers sank on Sunday in the latest waterways tragedy to hit Bangladesh. The bodies recovered so far included women and children, said Jahurul Islam, district administrator of northern Panchagarh, where the accident occurred.
- World
- AFP
- Published Date: 02:14 | 25 September 2022
- Modified Date: 02:38 | 25 September 2022
At least 23 people were killed and several dozen more were missing on Sunday after a boat capsized in a river in Bangladesh, police said.
"We have recovered 23 bodies. Firefighters and divers are searching for more bodies," local police official Shafiqul Islam told AFP.
The boat was packed with up to 50 Hindu pilgrims, police said.
They were travelling to a centuries-old temple when the vessel suddenly tipped over and sank in the middle of the Karotoa river near the town of Boda in northern Bangladesh.
Another police officer said up to 25 people were still missing.
Boat tragedies caused by poor maintenance and overcrowding are common in Bangladesh, a poor nation crisscrossed by rivers.
A ferry sank in Dhaka in June 2021 after a collision with another vessel, killing at least 32 people.
At least 78 people died in February 2015 when an overcrowded ship collided with a cargo vessel in a river west of the capital.
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