Saturday, a ferry packed with people going home for an Islamic festival capsized in southern Bangladesh. The accident, which occurred as passengers were disembarking at a terminal has left at least 30 people dead and scores missing, media reports said. Many of the dead were women and children.
The tragedy happened in the remote coastal village of Bhola. Gas torches were used to cut open submerged cabins, and local residents joined police and fire brigade divers to search for survivors inside the ferry.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, police and fire brigade divers pulled 30 bodies from the submerged part of the ferry and officials said some of the missing were feared trapped inside.
It was unclear how many people were on board when the boat capsized, since ferry authorities in Bangladesh usually don't keep passenger lists. According to the report, Dhaka's private ETV television station said the ferry was carrying more than 1,500 people, adding many had already disembarked when the accident occurred. The triple-deck ferry, M.V. Coco, was traveling late Friday from Dhaka to the coastal town of Bhola and was crowded with people heading home to celebrate the Eid-ul-Azha festival. It tipped and the rear portion sank in the Tetulia River as many passengers scrambled to disembark at a terminal near Bhola, 64 miles south of Dhaka.
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