A ferry carrying at least 200 passengers capsized in central Bangladesh's Padma River on Monday, the Associated Press reported.
Onlookers on the shore helplessly watched as the ferry M.V. Pinak overturned in the river located in the Munshiganj district some 30 miles south of the capital Dhaka. Two bodies have so far been recovered from the scene. It is not clear how many could be dead.
About 44 people were able to escape the sinking ferry by swimming to the shore. But rescue efforts were slow because authorities did not have the proper equipment to reach the vessel. Authorities waited over four hours for a rescue ship to reach the site.
"We are waiting for a big rescue vessel which is on its way," local fire official Nurul Alam Dulal told the AP. "It's very difficult to go there at the scene and stay afloat."
It is not yet clear what caused the accident, but previous boating incidents have been blamed on overcrowding and a lack of rule application. The official number of passengers is not known because ferry operators in Bangladesh usually don't maintain lists, the AP reported. Local reports say nearly 250 people were on the ferry.
One survivor, Azizul Haque, attributed the accident to severe weather.
"The ferry went out of control due to wind and current, tilting from one side to the other," the 30-year-old told the AP. "Then the captain jumped out because he probably understood it was sinking. The river was rough, and there were many passengers on board."
The Ministry of Shipping has ordered an investigation into the accident, the AP reported.
Boats are a primary source of transportation in Bangladesh, a country with more than 130 rivers passing through it. Unfortunately, many people have been killed in ferry incidents, including one in May that killed 50 people in the same district, the AP reported.
