Death toll rises to 26 in Bangladesh ferry sinking - China.org.cn

The death toll of Sunday's ferry sinking in the Shitalakkhya River near Bangladesh's capital Dhaka has risen to 26 Monday afternoon, after another 21 bodies were retrieved, an official said.

Ershad Hossain, senior duty officer of the Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters, told Xinhua that the bodies of the victims, including children and women, were recovered from the river in Narayanganj district, about 20 km away from Dhaka.

The jam-packed boat, carrying on board some 50 passengers capsized after it was hit by another boat in the river at around 6:00 p.m. local time Sunday.

"Another 21 bodies were recovered on Monday afternoon, taking the number of total death toll to 26 from five," Hossain told Xinhua over phone.

He said a search operation is still under way for the unknown number of people still missing.

"We've come to know that the ferry was carrying about 50 passengers," he said, adding that the boat has been dragged to the bank

Ferry and boat disasters are common in Bangladesh, which is crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers.