Dhaka, May 15 (IANS): At least seven bodies have been recovered after a ferry carrying hundreds of passengers sank Thursday in the middle of a river in a storm in Bangladesh.
The ferry, carrying between 250 to 300 passengers, capsized in river Meghna in Munshiganj, 27 km from capital Dhaka, after it was hit by a nor'wester, Xinhua reported.
Rescue vessels were carrying out the operation to take out the victims from the river.
Ferdous Hossain, officer-in-charge of Gajaria police station in Munshiganj, said many passengers were able to swim ashore after the accident occurred around 3 p.m. but he could not tell immediately as to how many passengers were missing.
The ferry services in Bangladesh are notorious for never maintaining passenger lists and none can say how many passengers a ferry carries.