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Fifty missing, 100 injured in ferry collision in Bangladesh

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-30 10:34

DHAKA  -- Some fifty people were missing and about 100 others injured as two ferries collided in a river in southern Bangladesh early Tuesday, private TV channel Channel i reported.

The accident took place at 3 a.m. in Bangladesh's southern Patuakhali district, about 204 km south of the capital Dhaka, on Tuesday, the report said.

Passengers on board were heading for their hometown to be with their families ahead of the largest Muslim festival Eid-ul-Fitr that falls on October 1 or 2 depending on the sight of the new moon.

Ferries usually run in a packed condition on the eve of the festival, carrying passengers several times more than their sanctioned capacity, risking people's lives.