At least 21 people have died and around 50 are missing after a boat sank in Bangladesh’s Brahmanbaria.
The boat, carrying more than 70, collided with a sand-laden cargo ship in the Bijoynagar area, about 82 kilometers (51 miles) east of the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.
Local government administrator Hayat-Ud-Dola said, “We have recovered 21 bodies including nine women and six children so far.”
He further added that the toll would likely rise.
Witness Nurul Amin told local media, “I was grazing cattle on the bank of the pond. I heard a loud noise and saw the cargo vessels hitting the passenger trawler. I saw the trawler sinking quickly.” According to him, two cargo vessels hit the passenger boat.
One of the passengers Akhi Akter was with her son, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law in the boat. She said, “When the accident occurred, I managed to swim back to the bank. But the rest of my relatives are still missing.”
Poor implementation of safety measures has led to horrifying accidents in the past. At least 54 people were killed in April and May in two separate boat capsizing incidents.
