Death toll from ferry capsize in S Bangladesh rises to 53

Crowds of local citizens gatered at the site of the capsized ferry boat. A ferry capsized in Bangladesh's Bhola district on Nov 27, 2009.

DHAKA, Nov. 29 -- The death toll from ferry capsize in Bangladesh's Bhola district, 197 kms southeast of capital Dhaka, rose to 53, as the divers of Bangladesh Navy and fire service found 18 more bodies on Sunday, and the ferry was already lifted from the river, police said.

A woman is rescued from a capsized ferry in the remote coastal village Bhola, some 255 kms south of Dhaka.

The divers are now searching for more bodies inside the ferry, a list of 103 people were still missing, district officials told Xinhua by phone.

The ferry was lifted by the salvage ship Hamza on its arrival at the scene from Barisal, a neighboring district and 169 kms south of capital Dhaka.

The district administration has handed over 49 bodies to the relatives. Hundreds of people gathered on the bank of the Tentulia river anxiously waited overnight looking for their relatives, who were on board the ferry, according to private news agency Bdnews24.com.

Bangladeshi President Zillur Raman, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is attending the Commonwealth Summit Trinidad and leader of the opposition Begum Khaleda Zia in separate messages expressed deep shock at the deaths and extended sympathy to members of bereaved families and also prayed for eternal peace of the departed souls.

A ferry carring many passengers who were returning home from Dhaka to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha, one of the biggest holidays for Muslim, capsized Friday night in Nazirpur ferry station when the passengers tried to get down from the ferry in a mess.

Millions of people have left the capital for their hometowns by trains, buses and ferries to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha which falls on Nov. 28 this year in Bangladesh.

Inland Water Transport authorities earlier said about 1,000 people die in ferry accidents on an average every year in the country.

The ferry services never maintain list of passenger for which none can exactly say how many passengers a ferry carries.

Locals cry after a ferry, the M.V. Coco-4, overturned in the river Tetulia, near Lalmohon town in Bhola district November 28, 2009.

Locals react after a ferry, the M.V. Coco-4, overturned in the bank of the river Tetulia, near Lalmohon town in Bhola district November 28, 2009.
(Reuters)