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Deaths mount in boat accident in Bangladesh

September 27, 2022

At least 67 people have died after a boat accident Sunday in northern Bangladesh. Several of the people on the boat were headed to a centuries-old temple to celebrate a major Hindu festival.

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Rescue teams look for suvivors in the river where the accident happened
Villagers from the town close to the accident area have helped rescue efforts Image: Firoz Al Sabah

The death toll from a boat accident that occurred in Bangladesh rose to 67 on Tuesday, after rescue teams retrieved more than a dozen bodies.

More people are still missing, and rescue operations will continue Wednesday, police officials said.

Bangladeshi Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan also visited the accident area on Tuesday.

A committee to probe the incident has been set up.

Dozens people on banks of a river, close to the town of Boda, in northern Bangladesh
Dozens have gathered on the banks of the river, close to the northern town of BodaImage: Firoz Al Sabah

Relatives mourn deaths of loved ones, await news

An overcrowded boat carrying around 90 people overturned on Sunday in a river close to the town of Boda, about 330 kilometers (210 miles) northwest of Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka.

About 50 people on the boat were pilgrims headed to a centuries-old temple to mark the beginning of a big Hindu festival, police officials said.

Relatives of the people who were on the boat have been crowding the banks of the river, hoping for news about their family members.

Rescue teams on Monday retrieved bodies miles away from where the accident happened. Sujay Kumar Roy, Boda's police chief, said firefighters, navy divers and villagers were all searching for miles downstream of the Karotoa river, where the accident happened.

A police official said the boat was carrying three times as many people as permitted. Deadly accidents like the one that happened Sunday occur every so often in the South Asian country, which experts blame on a lack of safety regulations. 

rm/wd (AFP, dpa)