Dhaka: The death toll in the boat capsize incident in the Korotoa River in Bangladesh’s Panchagarh district has increased to 50 with more bodies recovered on Monday evening.
The overcrowded boat capsized in the Korotoa River as it was heading towards the Bodeshwari Temple on the occasion of Mahalaya.
Panchagarh Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Dipankar Roy, who is also leading the investigation committee formed by the district administration, said that 43 bodies were recovered by 5 pm and 41 people are still missing, the Bdnews24.com reported.
Some bodies were found in a river in Dinajpur. The bodies had reportedly washed away due to strong currents, an official said.
Later, six more bodies were recovered from the Karotoa River, Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported, adding that the total number of dead people now stands at 50.
Among them, 14 are children, 24 are women and 12 are men, it added.
Roy said that the recovered bodies were handed over to families.
Media reports quoting relatives said 58 passengers were missing while officials earlier said the boat was believed to be carrying as many as 80 passengers.
Eyewitnesses, however, claim that there were more than 150 passengers on the boat. Some people swim back to the river bank.
“The preliminary investigation shows that the boat was overcrowded,” Roy was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
However, he also noted that there may be other reasons behind why the boat sank, but that will be revealed after the committee finishes its investigation, the paper said.
“The boatman had asked some people to disembark to ease the weight-load. But no one listened,” said Solaiman Ali, the administrative chief of the sub-district.
Roy said the fire service in Panchagargh is leading the search efforts.
Earlier in May, 26 people died after an overcrowded speedboat collided with a sand-laden bulk carrier and sank on the Padma River.