Dhaka,(Asian independent) The death toll from a boat capsize in Bangladesh’s Buriganga river has increased to 33 after another body was recovered on Tuesday, authorities said, adding many other passengers were feared missing.
The body was recovered when the sunken vessel was being pulled out of water, The Daily Star newspaper quoted Anisur Rahman, duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence, as saying.
The boat, Morning Bird, which was en route to Dhaka from Munshiganj, capsized on Monday morning after it was hit by another vessel, Moyur-2 near Sadarghat launch terminal.
It was reportedly carrying over 100 passengers, according to local police.
The police said that a novice was allegedly at the helm of Moyur-2 when it slammed into the boat causing it to capsize.
Seven people have sued on charge of negligence.
The highly polluted Buriganga river forms a part of the main waterway connecting Dhaka with other parts of the country, Efe news said in a report.
Boat accidents occur frequently in Bangladesh, where hundreds of waterways, including the Ganges Delta rivers Brahmaputra, Padma and Meghna, are commonly used for transport.
In most cases, the mishaps can be attributed to overloading and the poor condition of the vessel.
However, such incidents have considerably reduced over the years due to improvements in weather forecasting and implementation of new safety regulations.