At least 24 people died and dozens more went missing after a boat capsized in a river in Bangladesh, police said.
The overcrowded boat capsized Sunday afternoon as it returned from a Hindu temple across the Karatoa River in the Boda area of Panchagarh district, local police chief SM said.
Sirajul Huda. Divers and local residents recovered at least 24 bodies Sunday night, he said, adding that the dead were at least 12 women and eight children. He said many passengers swam ashore.
Another official said up to 25 people were still missing. At least 10 people were rescued and hospitalized, according to local media.
Thousands of Hindus from predominantly Muslim Bangladesh visit the Bodeshwari Temple every year. Durga Puja, the biggest Hindu festival in Bangladesh and neighboring eastern India, started on Sunday, drawing large crowds to the temple.
Hundreds of people die each year in ferry accidents in Bangladesh, a low-lying country with vast inland waterways but lax safety standards.
At least 26 people died in May after an overloaded speedboat collided with a sand-laden bulk carrier and sank on the Padma River. In December, nearly 50 people were killed and more than 70 injured when a ferry caught fire in the rural southern town of Jhalokati.
In June 2020, a ferry sank in Dhaka after colliding with another ship, killing dozens of people. At least 78 people were killed in February 2015 when an overcrowded ship collided with a freighter in a river west of the capital.
