Death Toll in Bangladesh Ferry Capsize Rises to 40

The triple-deck ferry, M.V. Coco, floats after it tipped and its rear portion sank in the Tetulia...

The triple-deck ferry, M.V. Coco, floats after it tipped and its rear portion sank in the Tetulia River late Friday near the coastal town of Bhola, 64 miles (104 kilometers) south of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009. The ferry packed with people going home for an Islamic festival capsized as they disembarked at a terminal in southern Bangladesh, authorities said Saturday. (AP Photo Firoz Ahmed)

(AP)

Rescuers searched inside the submerged cabins of a triple-deck ferry Sunday for scores of people believed to be missing after it capsized near a dock in southern Bangladesh, killing at least 40, authorities said.

The M.V. Coco, traveling from the capital Dhaka, was packed with hundreds of travelers heading home for an Islamic festival when it went down late Friday as it arrived at Nazirhat town in the coastal district of Bhola, 64 miles (104 kilometers) to the south.

Rescuers recovered three more bodies from the partially submerged boat Sunday, raising the death toll to 40, police official Mohammad Bayezid said.

"We don't know how many people are still trapped inside the ferry. But anyone still there has no chance of survival," he said.

Some survivors said the boat hit a river shoal as it approached the terminal, breaking the hull and allowing water in. As passengers scrambled to disembark, the vessel then tipped and partially sank in the Tetulia River.

"As I saw water in the lower deck I jumped through the window and swam ashore," Shahidul Islam, a survivor, said Saturday. "Many passengers were frightened after seeing water in the lower deck and started rushing out, causing the boat to tilt on one side."

The ferry was crowded with people heading home to celebrate the Eid al-Adha festival, but it is unclear how many were on board. Dhaka's private ETV television station said it was carrying more than 1,500 people but many had already disembarked when the vessel went down.

ATN television station said up to 80 people were still unaccounted for.

The ferry had an approved capacity of 1,000 passengers, police officials said. Authorities usually don't keep passenger lists to make clear how many are on board.

Gas torches were used to cut open submerged cabins, and local residents joined divers to search for survivors inside the ferry. Police and fire brigade divers pulled 37 bodies from the sunken part of the vessel before darkness halted rescue work for the night, said Saiful Islam and Showkat Hossain, local police officials supervising the effort. Many of the dead were women and children.