At least 23 people including six women and three children died as a launch, carrying over 150 passengers, capsized in the Buriganga River near Shyambazar on Monday morning.
Shajahan Shikder, deputy assistant director(media) of the Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters , said so far 23 bodies were retrieved from the sunken launch .
The bodies were sent to Mitford Hospital, he said.
According to the duty officer at the control room of Fire Service, the Dhaka-bound launch from Munshiganj sank in the river around 9:33 am after being hit by another launch `Mayur-2` while the launch was anchoring in Farashganj ghat.
On information, fire service divers rushed to spot and started the rescue operation, said the official.
UNB Keraniganj correspondent reported from the spot that the `MV Morning Bird` launch carrying over 150 passengers sank in the river.
According to witnesses, around 50 passengers managed to swim ashore with the help of locals.
AKM Arif Uddin, joint director at BIWTA (Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority), said a salvage ship, `Hamja`, left Narayanganj for Dhaka to rescue the sunken launch.
He said most of the passengers had been able to swim ashore. Fire service divers are working to rescue the missing passengers, he added. — UNB, Dhaka
