28 November 2024
Collision of a ferry with a cargo vessel – Casualties
On March 20th, a small ferry packed with passengers had collision with a cargo vessel and sank at the Shitalakhsya River in Bangladesh.
On March 20th, a small ferry packed with passengers had collision with a cargo vessel. As a result, the ferry sank at the Shitalakhsya River in central Bangladesh.
Aftermath
Unfortunately, six people are dead and up to 20 are still missing after the general cargo vessel caused a collision with a ferry transiting the river.
Rescue workers from the Fire Service and Civil Defence department found the bodies of two children, two women and a man in the water. Another victim died at a hospital.
River police seized the Rupshi-9 general cargo ship yesterday, although the master of the vessel had fled by the time the authorities arrived, local media reported.
Videos show the ship’s bow ramming the Afsar Uddin ferry for 500 meters before the small passenger vessel sank with passengers leaping into the river to try and avoid being ploughed over by the cargo ship. The ferry was carrying more than 50 passengers when the accident happened.
A ferry sank in Dhaka in June last year after a collision with another vessel, killing at least 32 people.
Hundreds of people die each year in ferry accidents in Bangladesh, a low-lying South Asian country that has extensive inland waterways but lax safety standards. Nearly 30% of the country’s 170 million people commute along river routes.
Photo: Reuters
