Nearly 200 Feared Dead After Ferry Sinks in Bangladesh River

Rescuers found 11 bodies in the choppy waters of a river in southern Bangladesh where an overloaded ferry capsized. Nearly 200 people are feared dead.

The bodies were found floating several miles downstream from where the ferry went down, according to officials.

The steel-bodied ferry carrying 300 people sank during a storm Saturday in Barisal district, 75 miles south of the capital, Dhaka.

Witnesses said as many as 100 people swam ashore Saturday or were rescued by fishermen soon after the ferry sank near the mouth of the river that flows into the Bay of Bengal.

Thousands of relatives thronged the riverbanks to search for their family members. Many joined the rescue effort in boats.

“The ferry was overcrowded and was running at speed in heavy current,” survivor Bazlur Rahman said. “The ferry tilted on one side and sank in midstream immediately after being caught in a tropical storm.”