Dhaka: At least 40 people died and more than 150 other people were injured in early Friday after the three-story ferry packaged carrying around 800 passengers caught fire on the Sugandha River in South Bangladesh, officials, in the latest maritime tragedy to hit the Delta Criss – Crossed by River.
The fire broke around 3:00 a.m.
(local time) on Friday in the engine room from the launch of MV Abhijan-10 which was bound from Barguna which began the journey from Dhaka, police said and fire officials, added that other passenger scores were missing.
“Nine bodies were taken from the river …
72 passengers mostly with fire wounds were being treated at Medical College Hospital Barisi,” said an API official to local television channels.
Television channels, citing officials, reported that at least 40 people have died in fire.
A police officer told reporters at the scene that most people died of fire while some sank when they jumped into the river after the fire broke.
“Many passengers fell asleep when the fire broke out …
some died of breathing smoke, some were burned to death and some sinks,” he said.
The witnesses told reporters that the passenger ferry, carrying passengers, carrying passengers beyond their capacity and most of them visited their homes to spend more time with their families on weekends extended.
Relatives lamented the banks of the river and hospitals due to massive rescue operations ongoing.
Other fire officials said the investigation was launched what caused a fire as a passenger ferry through Jhhalakathi Regency.
Authorities ordered an investigation to determine the cause of the fire.
The seven member committee has been formed and assigned to submit a report in three days.
Saver fear will be killed likely to increase because more passengers have been injured in pre-dawn fire.
Many passengers jumped into the river in a desperate effort to save their lives when the fire raged on thre hours.
The victim said the launch was packed with passengers, bdnews24.com reported.
Kamal Uddin Bhuiyan, Deputy Director of Barishal Fire Service who led the response, said they suspected that the fire might have started in the launch engine room.
“After receiving information, 15 firefighters led by Kamal Uddin Bhuiyan, Deputy Director of the Barishal division service and civil defense went to the scene at 3:50 a.m.
and brought fire under control at 5:20 a.m.,” said fire.
Service control room statement.
“The launch engine room suddenly burned around 3:00 a.m.
and spread quickly when the ship was near the Gabkhan Bridge,” Rahman said, a survivor, as quoted by the Star Daily newspaper.
“There are many passengers including children and elderly.
Many of them jump into the river and can swim to land,” he said.
“I caught a burning smell and came out of the VIP cabin to find out that there was a fire.
I, my wife and brother-in-law then jump into cold water and swim to the bank,” he added.
The accident was the latest in a number of similar incidents in Bangladesh, a small country in stockpiling by a network of around 230 rivers with various sizes and shapes.
This watercoures covers almost 7 percent of the total territory of the country.
A speedboat that was overloaded allegedly driven by an under-experienced boy was inverted in Bangladesh after a collision with a sandboat in May this year, killing at least 26 people.
In June last year, the ferry carried more than 100 passengers upside down on the Buriganga River in Bangladesh after being beaten from behind by other ferries, killing at least 32 people.
In February 2015, at least 78 people died when a crowded ship collided with a cargo ship.