The death toll in Bangladesh’s ferry disaster today rose to 70 after divers recovered more bodies from the Padma River in which an overcrowded boat with over 150 passengers sank after colliding with a trawler.
“We are formally wrapping up the main rescue operations as the sunken ferry has been salvaged but searches for more bodies will continue for the next few days,” Deputy Commissioner of Administrative Chief Central Manikganj district Rasheda Ferdous told presspersons.
Her comments came hours after 24 bodies were found inside the sunken MV Mostafa after a rescue vessel fitted with cranes pulled the ferry up early this morning — 16 hours after it capsized with more than 150 passengers onboard.
The overloaded ferry sank in the river after a collision with a cargo vessel as it was heading to Paturia from Daulatdia in Rajbari, about 135 km west of the capital Dhaka.
Officials said of 70 bodies recovered so far, 63 have been handed over to relatives. TV footage showed people crowding on both sides of the river and crying as they received the inflated bodies of the victims.
Ferdous said the fire service, police and other concerned agencies would keep a vigil on the river in search of more bodies for the next few days as, according to relatives, at least nine people were still missing.
A TV channel showed a young married woman in tears as rescuers brought bodies of three members of her family into the terminal with one being her one-month-old baby sister.
“They all had their lunch at my home (near the ferry terminal) and then boarded the ferry,” she said.
Hours after the ferry sank, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority rescue vessel Rustom joined the salvage last night and retrieved the ferry early this morning.
A rescue official said the disaster was more serious in terms of the toll than initially thought “when we had an idea that only few passengers drowned as nearly 100 people were rescued alive”.
Officials said they had no idea about the exact number of passengers onboard as operators of private ferries, which also lack safety standards, usually do not maintain formal lists.
MV Mostafa is believed to be carrying 140 passengers, but officials said it was carrying nearly 200 people.