The overloaded boat caught fire in the middle of a river in the south of the country. A hundred people are also victims of burns, and the police fears a heavier assessment.
Le Monde with AFP
At least 32 people died, Friday, December 24, in the fire of an overloaded ferry on a river in Bangladesh, announced the police.
“The three-story Obhijan 10 caught fire in the middle of the river. We recovered 32 bodies. The balance sheet could rise. Most have died in the fire and some drowned after having Sautéed in the river, “said France-Press (AFP) the local police chief, Moinul Islam.
The drama took place early in the morning near the city of Jhalokathi, 250 km south of the capital Dhaka. According to Mr. Islam, the fire would have declared themselves in the machine room before spreading in the crowded ferry from people returning home since Dhaka. “We sent 100 people with burns in Barisal hospitals,” he added.
Disaster series
The accident is the latest on a series of similar disasters in this low altitude country located around a delta formed many rivers. Millions of people in Bangladesh, a country of 170 million, are heavily dependent on ferries for transport, especially in the southern coastal region. But ships are unsafe. The experts point to the lack of vessel maintenance, the laxity of safety standards and the overpopulation of Ferrys.
In April and May, 54 people were dead in two distinct accidents. And in August, the collision of a ferry and a cargo carrying sand had made at least 21 dead on a lake of the east of the country.