Death toll rises to 50 in Bangladesh boat capsize

Dhaka: With the recovery of 25 more bodies on Monday from a capsized boat carrying Hindu devotees to a centuries-old temple in northern Bangladesh, the death toll in the tragedy has risen to 50, mostly children and women, authorities said.

The devotees were heading towards the Bodeshwari Temple on the occasion of Mahalaya, the auspicious start of the Durga Puja festival, when the over-crowded boat capsized in the Korotoa River in the northwestern Panchagarh district on Sunday. Sujoy Kumar, officer in-charge of the local police station, said that the authorities have recovered the bodies of 25 more people, taking the death toll in the incident to 50.

Among them, 13 are children, 25 women and 12 men, he added. Some bodies were found in a river in Dinajpur. The bodies have been carried by the strong current into nearby rivers and tributaries, Kumar said, adding that the police and the fire service are conducting their rescue operations with that in mind.