Divers found more bodies Monday from a ferry that sank over the weekend near the capital of Bangladesh, raising the death toll to 119, and a search for dozens of missing passengers was called off.
The double-decker MV Maharaj was carrying about 200 people when it capsized during a storm just before midnight Saturday on the Buriganga River. Many of the passengers had worked late and were headed home for a two-day public holiday.
The vessel was about 30 minutes into its journey from Dhaka to the eastern town of Chandpur when wind gusts struck. It capsized and sank near Pagla town.
Eighty-two bodies were found Sunday and 36 more Monday when the vessel was pulled from the water, said Lt. Cmdr. Mahbubur Rashid, a navy officer supervising the search.
“The vessel has been salvaged and thoroughly searched. There are no more bodies inside it,” Rashid said.
“If there are still bodies underwater, those are likely to surface in a couple of days. But we are calling off our search,” Rashid said.
Grieving relatives and survivors, however, still searched for loved ones.
“My brother is still missing. I don’t know what has happened to him,” said survivor Mohammad Selim Khan.
Khan, who also had been on the ferry, swam ashore after the accident and has since been waiting for his brother.
Rickshaw driver Jasim Uddin was rescued by a fishing boat, but his daughter and nephew died. His wife, a son and four other relatives were missing.
“I’ve lost everyone in my family. What sin have I committed? Oh Allah, tell me how shall I live without them,” said Uddin, 35, sitting in front of the bodies of his daughter and nephew.
“It was dark and high winds came from the south. The ferry careered to one side and I jumped into the waters,” said garment worker Kohinoor Begum, who was picked up by a trawler.
Her brother and a nephew traveling with her died, she said.
The bodies of victims, some of them infants, were lined up in rows on a field near the riverbank, and thousands of anxious people came to identify their relatives.
President Iajuddin Ahmed urged authorities to speed up rescue work, and ordered an investigation. Ferry accidents are common in this South Asian nation crisscrossed by rivers. Most are blamed on overcrowding, bad weather, and poor navigation.
