Bangladesh ferry mishap leaves 33 dead, 120 missing

Relatives try to console a wailing woman, Ayesha Begum (centre), who lost her two sons in the sunken ferry accident. Picture / Reuters

DHAKA - Divers battling fierce currents and blasting winds on Thursday recovered 33 bloated bodies from a ferry that sank in a choppy Bangladesh river, but failed to reach the vessel nine metres under water.

Police and rescuers said about 50 people survived, but 120 were still missing, feared trapped inside the wrecked ferry or swept away by the tide.

"We had almost risked our own lives trying to get into the submerged vessel but fierce currents held us back," one diver told reporters.

"We saw bodies trapped ... but could not reach them immediately. The currents are hell down there," another diver told journalists. "The ferry is now at least nine metres under water, partly covered by sand."

The twin-decker MV Raipura went down with 200 passengers in the Jamuna river at Aricha, about 100km west of the capital Dhaka, in a tropical storm on Tuesday.

"Barring a miracle, it is quite unlikely that anyone would survive so long under water," said Mohammad Abu Yusuf, a police officer monitoring the rescue.

Efforts to refloat the ferry began on Thursday after rescue vessel MV Rustam, delayed by bad weather, arrived with divers, said Yusuf. But stormy weather and strong currents frustrated their rescue work.

"Storms have begun to sweep the area and we are compelled to suspend the salvage operation for the night," Syed Moinuddin Hyder, commander of the rescue ship told Reuters by telephone.

Hyder earlier said strong currents had moved the ferry.

Another boat carrying about 100 people sank in a river in southern Bangladesh on Thursday during a severe storm, police said, the third such accident in five days.
The boat sank in the turbulent Meghna river estuary to the Bay of Bengal in the district of Bhola, 325km south of the capital Dhaka, police said.

Most of the people on board were either rescued or swam to safety, but nearly 40 people were missing.

Public anger was growing in impoverished Bangladesh.

"Do something to speed up the rescue process," one man shouted. "Don't come up with another excuse or put the blame on the weather alone."

The Raipura, which was meant to carry 135 people, was loaded beyond capacity.

Its sinking came three days after another packed ferry, the twin-decked MV Prince of Patuakhali, sank in a storm in the turbulent Tentulia river 350km south of Dhaka, killing at least 60 people with 30 still listed missing.

Despite the suspension of the rescue operation for the night, hundreds of grieving people stayed on the banks of the river and most of them said they would not leave unless the sunken vessel was refloated and they got back their loved ones.

Some hired boats to search for bodies on their own.

Witnesses said the relatives, many wailing or beating their chests in grief, raised hands in prayers on Thursday.

"Allah (God) please don't be so cruel to me," said 50-year-old Abdul Hamid, who was searching for seven missing family members and relatives.

Ayesha Begum, 45, feared for her two sons. "I sent them to work and earn some bread for my poor family. But I never wanted to lose them forever."

Bangladesh has a shocking record of ferry accidents and hundreds of people die each year despite repeated government promises to better legislate the industry.

Much of Bangladesh's vast ferry fleet has little or no safety equipment, and operators and owners often neglect weather forecasts and shipping rules.

- REUTERS