Deaths in Bangladesh ferry sinking
Scores of people feared dead after passenger vessel capsizes.
“We are estimating that the ferry was carrying around 100 passengers and the rescue mission is ongoing,” he said.
Poor safety
More than 3,000 people are estimated to have died in accidents on boats in Bangladesh since 1977, with most of the incidents blamed on poor safety standards and overloading.
At least 85 people drowned last Friday when a crowded triple-decker ferry in southern Bangladesh capsized and sank.
Shahjahan Khan, Bangladesh’s shipping minister, said after that accident that a stampede by passengers had caused the MV Coco-4 to sink.
The vessel was carrying people travelling from cities to their home villages for the Muslim holy festival of Eid al-Adha.
Police called off the search for more bodies on Friday morning, nearly a week after the incident.
The government has filed a case against the owners of the vessel – Tareque Rahman and Arafat Rahman Coco, sons of Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister of Bangladesh.