80 feared drowned in ferry disaster in Bangladesh
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-05-15 19:28

About 80 of 100 people were feared dead in a ferry disaster in the river Tentulia in Bangladesh's coastal Patukhali district Sunday, police said Sunday.

Four bodies were picked up by rescuers from rivers near the place of occurrence in the southern most coastal district after the ferry was caught in a storm Sunday morning.

The ferry Prince of Patukhali sank with at least 100 people, but around 20 people swam to safety, an official of the shipping ministry in Dhaka said.

The official said a rescue vessel with drivers has been despatched from Dhaka and it will take at least 10 hours to reach the place of occurrence.

Ferry accidents in the calamity-prone Bangladesh are common in this season of stormy weather and floods. Many of the ferry accidents occur due to overcrowding and stormy weather.

Every year several hundred people die of ferry accidents in this South Asian nation criss-crossed by around 250 rivers.

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