At least three people were killed and dozens missing as a Bangladeshi ferry packed with more than 1,000 passengers travelling home to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid-ul Adha tilted and partly sank late Friday, police said.
The accident occurred as the MV Coco-4, one of the country's largest inland vessels, was coming in to a river station on Bhola island, local police chief Zakir Hossain told AFP by phone.
"It was overcrowded with over 1,000 passengers. It tilted and part of it sank due to crowd pressure as it arrived near the Nazirpur river station," he said.
"So far we have recovered three dead bodies. Scores of people who were staying in the cabins remained unaccounted for," he said, adding that firefighters were using gas torches to cut open the cabins.
Police said most of the passengers managed to swim ashore after the ferry tipped over following a stampede.
The ferry set off from the capital Dhaka Friday afternoon with the passengers travelling to their village homes to celebrate the three-day Eid-ul Adha festival, the second largest Muslim celebration.
Boat and ferry accidents due to poor safety standards and overloading are common in Bangladesh, which is criss-crossed by a network of 230 rivers.
