A ferry carrying around 250 passengers capsized in Bangladesh's Padma River in the Munshiganj district, killing at least two people, authorities have stated. Many more are likely dead, though no official body count has been released.
At least 100 people have been rescued in the river by Bangladeshi emergency teams.
44 survived by swimming to shore. One, Azizul Haque, jumped overboard when he realized that the ferry was unstable and about to sink.
"The ferry went out of control due to wind and current, tilting from one side to the other," Haque, said. "Then the captain jumped out because he probably understood it was sinking. The river was rough, and there were many passengers on board."
Ferry accidents are not uncommon in Bangladesh. With its record of poor safety regulations and loose passenger record keeping, scores die every year on the ships, which are a common form of transportation in the country. Bangladesh contains more than 130 rivers.
In May, about 50 people died in another ferry accident in Bangladesh, likely due to overcrowding and poor safety codes on the ship itself. As of yet, there has been no clear indication as to what caused the most recent ferry to capsize.
The incident brings up painful memories of the Costa Concordia disaster in 2012, when an Italian cruise ship scraped against the seabed and flooded its engine compartment. 4,252 people were on board and 32 people died in the crash, which is still under investigation. Accusations have been filed against the captain, Francesco Schettino, of gross negligence and failing to be the last one to leave the ship.
Earlier this year, 304 people died in Korea, 250 of them teenagers, when an overcrowded ferry sank off the coast of South Korea. The sinking is believed to have been caused by gross negligence both by the owner of the cruise line and the crew of the ship.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
