DHAKA, Bangladesh, May 15 (UPI) -- A ferry boat carrying at least 200 people on the Meghna River in Bangladesh capsized during a storm, officials said.
Several bodies, including those of women and children, have been recovered, but police say the number will likely rise. Saiful Hassan Badal, deputy commissioner of Munshiganj district, where the accident occurred, suggested as many as 350 people were aboard the vessel. Some may have swum to safety.
Accidents involving unseaworthy and overcrowded boats are not uncommon in Bangladesh, where boats are the main form of travel and the country has many navigable rivers. The incident on the Meghna occurred in high winds south of the capital city of Dhaka.
Rescue vessels of the local fire service and coast guard are involved in the search for the sunken boat. Its location has not yet been determined.
In 2012 a ferry and an oil tanker collided on the Meghna River, resulting in the deaths of 112 people.
