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21 dead after Bangladeshi boat capsizes

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-01-20 22:14

DHAKA -- Divers recovered 21 bodies on Tuesday, a day after a cargo vessel with at least 50 people on board capsized on a river in southern Bangladesh, police said.

An overcrowded Bangladeshi ferry in Dhaka in October 2006. Divers recovered 21 bodies on Tuesday, a day after a cargo vessel with at least 50 people on board capsized on a river in southern Bangladesh. [Agencies]

Local police chief Sheikh Salahuddin said the bodies were discovered inside the sunken boat, now lying 20 metres (60 feet) under the surface of the river Meghna.

"The rescue work has been suspended for the day because dense fog. But it will resume tomorrow as the divers have said there are more bodies inside the sunken boat," he said.

The boat sank in Chandpur district after it collided with another vessel in dense fog early on Monday morning.

Police said 25 people were rescued by other boats.

Ferry and boat accidents caused by poor safety standards and overloading are common in low-lying Bangladesh, which is criss-crossed by a network of 230 rivers.