Police said that on Friday, a crowded night ferry caught fire in Bangladesh, killing at least 37 people. Frightened passengers jumped off the boat and fled the fire.
The latest maritime tragedy that hit this impoverished low-lying country occurred in the early hours of the morning in a river near Jalokati, 250 kilometers (160 miles) south of Dhaka.
“We have found 37 bodies. The death toll may rise. Most people died in the fire, and a few people drowned after many people jumped into the river,” local police chief Muinur Islam told AFP society.
Islam said that the fire is believed to have originated in the engine room and burned down the ferry. Despite the official capacity of 310 people, the ship carried at least 500 people, many of whom returned home from the capital.
“We have sent approximately 100 burn patients to the hospital in Barisal,” he said.
Witnesses stated that the fire broke out at around 3:00 am (2100 GMT) and spread rapidly.
“We slept on the mats on the first floor deck. All passengers were sleeping. My 9-year-old grandson Nayeem was with me and he jumped into the river. I don’t know what happened to him,” an elderly grandmother said .
Other survivors said that they had seen a small fire in the cabin when they departed from Sadarghat River Station in Dhaka at 9:00 on Thursday night.
Another survivor at the Barisal Medical College Hospital said: “As the fire spread, many people escaped. Many people were unable to leave the cabin where they slept. Many jumped into the river.”
Local district chief Johar Ali said that within an hour after the fire broke out, rescuers arrived at the scene and took the injured to a nearby hospital.
“We talked to passengers. They said there were 500 to 700 passengers,” he told AFP.
“The fire lasted four or five hours before it was extinguished. The entire [ferry] was burned. But they managed to bring it to the shore,” Ali said.
The local TV station broadcast the scenes of the burning of the motorcycle and the burning of the cabin inside the ship.
As fire brigade and coast guard divers searched the muddy waters, survivors shocked by the shells and their relatives crowded the shore.
This accident is the latest in a series of similar accidents in this delta country with crisscross rivers.
Experts in this South Asian country with a population of 170 million accuse the shipyard of poor maintenance, lax safety standards and overcrowding.
In August, a ship carrying passengers collided with a cargo ship laden with sand, killing at least 21 people. In April and May, 54 people were killed in two different accidents.
In June last year, a ferry sank after being hit by another ferry from behind in Dhaka, killing at least 32 people. In February 2015, an overcrowded vessel collided with a cargo ship, killing at least 78 people.
Fires are also a common source of tragedies. In July, a fire broke out in a food and beverage factory in the industrial town of Rupganj on the outskirts of Dhaka, killing 52 people.
Complete News Source : NDTV
