Death toll from Bangladesh boat capsize jumps to 68 as 17 more bodies recovered

DHAKA, Bangladesh

Seventeen more bodies were recovered from a river in northern Bangladesh on Tuesday, bringing the total death toll from a boat capsize to 68, officials confirmed.

A passenger boat, carrying approximately 150 people, mostly Hindu pilgrims, capsized in the Karatoya River in Boda town on Sunday while on its way to a temple for a religious festival in the northern district of Panchagarh.

According to officials, the accident occurred due to overcrowding, as the boat could only carry 50 passengers.

Some bodies were recovered from the nearby Atrai River in another northern Dinajpur district, which flows through the country's northern regions.

Md Mahbubul Islam, deputy director of the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense in the district told Anadolu Agency that a divers’ team recovered the bodies some 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) away from the spot of the incident.

"Strong currents washed bodies away to nearby rivers, causing delays in recovering them," he explained.

"So far, the rescuer and diver team of police, fire, and district administration have recovered the bodies of 68 people, including 21 children, 30 women, and 17 men. On Tuesday, they recovered 17 more bodies," Additional District Magistrate Dipankar Roy told Anadolu Agency.

Though many passengers were rescued and some were able to swim to shore since the incident, officials say four people are still missing.

“Because we could not identify three people’s bodies, we are unable to confirm the missing number. However, the missing list is being prepared with the families of missing persons, and they claim that four people are still missing,” said the official, who is the head of a five-member body tasked with investigating the incident.

Officials were concerned that the death toll would rise further if bodies were washed away in the Karatoya River or other rivers connected by the river.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people, including victims' family members and relatives, gathered near the incident site to search for their loved ones and urged officials to rescue the missing.

According to the records of the Shipping Department of Bangladesh, more than 550 passenger ships capsized between 1991 and 2020, killing over 3,600 people and leaving nearly 500 people missing.

The delta nation of nearly 170 million people is crisscrossed by more than 500 rivers.

Seasonal natural calamities such as storms and cyclones, foggy weather in winter, lack of vessel fitness, unskilled drivers, and overloading have been identified as the main causes of those accidents.