Death toll in ferry sinking in central Bangladesh rises to 38

The death toll of Thursday's ferry sinking in a central Bangladesh district rose to 38 on Saturday morning after another 10 bodies were retrieved from River Meghna, local police said. The ferry, carrying on board hundreds of passengers on the Meghna River in Munshiganj, some 27 km southeast of capital Dhaka, sank on Thursday after it was caught in a storm. "Another 10 missing bodies were recovered on Saturday morning which takes the number of total death toll to 38 from 28 on Friday, " Ferdous Hossain, officer-in-charge of Gajaria Police Station in Munsihganj district told Xinhua over mobile phone. He said a search operation is still under way. Sources said divers continue their search for dozens of people still missing from the ferry accident. Hossain said the sunken ferry has been dragged to the bank. The 32-metre double-decker ferry, MV Miraj-4, capsized in Meghna, one of the three rivers that form the Ganges Delta after it was hit by a nor'wester (known as a type of storm in Bangladesh) . Officials said many passengers were able to swim ashore after the accident at about 3:00 p.m. local time on Thursday but could not tell even on Saturday morning about the number of the missing passengers. Officials said that telling the exact number of missing people was not possible for them as the ferry management didn't maintain a list of passenger. Ferry passengers in Bangladesh usually buy tickets once they are on board, they said. Boats and ferries are still commonly used as the key means of transportation in Bangladesh which is criss-crossed by about 250 rivers. However, the vessels are often overloaded or badly maintained, and accidents are commonplace.