DHAKA, Bangladesh

Seven people have died and at least 20 more are missing after a cargo vessel rammed into a packed passenger ferry in central Bangladesh on Sunday. 

The ferry carrying some 60 passengers sank in the Shitalakhsya River in the industrial district of Narayanganj, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the capital Dhaka.

“We have recovered seven bodies so far and rescued almost 20 people,” Md. Monjurul Hafiz, the deputy commissioner of the district, told Anadolu Agency.

While many survivors managed to swim ashore, witnesses said most of the 20 people still missing are women and children who did not know how to swim.

Footage of the accident widely circulated on social media and aired by local broadcasters showed the large cargo ship slamming into the passenger boat and people jumping into the water as the boat rapidly sank.

The cargo vessel was seized by authorities a few hours after the accident.

The government has set up two probe committees and announced a monetary compensation package for the victims and their families.

Bangladesh, a delta nation of nearly 170 million people, is a riverine country with hundreds of rivers and tributaries.

Such accidents are a regular occurrence on its waterways that are used by tens of thousands of people, mostly from the 19 southern coastal districts, to reach Dhaka.

According to official records, more than 3,600 people died and nearly 500 went missing in more than 550 accidents on waterways in Bangladesh between 1991 and 2020.

This past December, at least 49 people were killed and more than 70 injured when a ferry carrying nearly 800 passengers caught fire.