Bangladesh: 23 Dead, Dozens Missing In Boat Accident

At least 23 people were killed while several dozen more are missing after a boat capsized in a river in northern Bangladesh on Sunday.

"We have recovered 23 bodies. Firefighters and divers are searching for more bodies," local police official Shafiqul Islam told the Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The police added that the boat was packed with up to 50 Hindu pilgrims.

They were travelling to a centuries-old temple when the vessel suddenly tipped over and sank in the middle of the Karotoa river near the town of Boda in northern Bangladesh.

The bodies recovered so far included women and children, said Jahurul Islam, district administrator of northern Panchagarh, where the accident occurred.

Hundreds of people die in ferry accidents in Bangladesh.

At least 26 died in May after an overcrowded speedboat collided with a sand-laden bulk carrier and sank on the Padma River.

Also, in June 2021, A ferry sank in Dhaka after a collision with another vessel, killing at least 32 people.