UPDATE - Death toll from boat capsize in Bangladesh rises to 40

UPDATE WITH CHANGED HEADLINE, NEW QUOTES, INFORMATION, EDIT THROUGHOUT

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – The death toll from a boat capsize in Bangladesh’s northern district of Panchagarh rose to 40 while a search for dozens of other passengers is underway, officials confirmed on Monday.

The passenger boat mostly carrying Hindu pilgrims capsized on Sunday while it was heading towards a Hindu temple in another area of the district in connection with a Hindu religious festival, according to police.

“We have recovered 40 bodies so far. Over 30 people are still missing,” MD. Imranujjaman, an assistant commissioner of Boda town, told Anadolu Agency.

Rescue operations are continuing in other districts — Rangpur and Dinajpur districts – linked by the Karatoya River, he said, adding an on-spot emergency information desk has been set up.

Seven bodies were found floating in a river in northern Dinajpur district, according to the district officials.

Officials feared the death count could increase further as strong currents could have taken bodies away in the Karatoya River that flows through the district.

Md Mahbubul Islam, the deputy director of Bangladesh Fire Service & Civil Defense in Panchagarh district, told Anadolu Agency that a divers’ team of the fire service recovered the bodies some 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) away from the spot of the incident.

Subhash Chandra Roy, a passenger who survived the boat sinking, told local TV channel Channel24 that he and his five friends were on board to join the Hindu religious festival.

“I was among some 150 passengers in the boat. Soon after we boarded the boat, water started entering the boat, and people started screaming. The drowning passengers were trying to catch each other and begging to be saved,” he recalled the horror.

Meanwhile, a five-member probe body headed by a district official was formed to investigate the incident.

The officials said that the accident occurred due to overcrowding. The overloaded small passenger boat was carrying over 100 people in the Karatoya River in Boda town, they added.

According to the records of the Shipping Department of Bangladesh, more than 550 passenger ships capsized between 1991 and 2020, killing over 3,600 people and leaving nearly 500 people missing.

The delta nation of nearly 170 million people is crisscrossed by above 500 rivers.

Seasonal natural calamities such as storms and cyclones, foggy weather in winter, lack of vessel fitness, unskilled drivers, and overloading have been identified as the main causes of those accidents.