At least six dead and dozens missing after Bangladesh ferry collision

Two children among the dead after a ferry packed with passengers collided with a cargo vessel and sank

Onlookers and relatives of the missing people stand at the site of an accident after a ferry sank in Shitalakshya river in Narayanganj. Bangladesh, 20 March 2022 (AFP via Getty Images)

At least six people died and dozens are missing after a small ferry packed with passengers collided with a cargo vessel and sank on Sunday on the Shitalakhsya River in central Bangladesh, the latest waterway tragedy to hit the nation.

Six bodies have been recovered after the ferry sank as it departed from the industrial district of Narayanganj, about 20 km (12.4 miles) from the capital Dhaka, to Munshiganj, said local police official Mohammad Moniruzzaman.

The dead include two women and two children, he said.

“The rescue operation for those missing is ongoing,” Mr Moniruzzaman said.

Police said they did not know the exact number of people missing, but passengers said more than 50 people had been on board, and some had managed to swim ashore.

Hundreds of people die each year in ferry accidents in Bangladesh, a low-lying South Asian country that has extensive inland waterways but lax safety standards. Nearly 30 per cent of the country’s 170 million people commute along river routes.

At least 26 people died in April after an overcrowded ferry collided with a cargo vessel and sank on the same Shitalakhsya River in Narayanganj.

In December, at least 41 people were killed and dozens injured after a packed ferry caught fire.