32 people drown as ferry capsizes in Bangladesh's Buriganga river

Dhaka: At least 32 people were drowned and many were missing on Monday when a ferry carrying over 100 passengers capsized in Buriganga river after it was hit by a bigger vessel in the Bangladeshi capital here, officials said. "It appeared to be an accident caused by the negligence of the drivers," an official of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) told reporters.

Rescuers feared several passengers were trapped inside the ferry, which sank at around 9:30 am with nearly 100 passengers on board in the Buriganga river along the Shyambazar area of Old Dhaka. "Thirty two bodies have been retrieved so far. Search is on for the missing ones," the BIWTA official said.

Most of the dead bodies have been identified and handed over to their families.

The ferry 'Morning Bird', which was coming to Dhaka from Munshiganj, capsized in the river after it was hit by a bigger vessel 'Moyur-2' near the Sadarghat launch terminal.

According to police, Moyur-2 was rushing towards a terminal to pick up passengers to be ferried to central Chandpur district, while the Morning Bird lowered its speed as passengers on board were preparing to disembark.