DHAKA (TIP): At least 11 people were killed and over 50 were missing after a boat sank in the Surma river in Bangladesh‘s Sunamganj district, an official said Tuesday.
The boat sank around 9 pm on Monday after it caught fire. Six bodies were recovered until 3 am when the rescue work was stopped due to heavy fog, reported bdnews24.com. Police and fire service personnel resumed the rescue efforts on Tuesday morning and found five more bodies, Sunamgnaj’s Superintendent of Police Harunur Rashid said.
Mohammad Tareque, a fire department official, said the recovered bodies were hard to recognize as they were severely burnt. Most of the boat passengers were workers at a stone quarry in Sunamganj district. The boat, which was carrying 15-20 children and women, caught fire from a stove and sank as the passengers panicked triggering a stampede. Around 40-45 passengers managed to swim to safety but more than 50 are still missing, officials said.