Lagatar24 Desk
Dhaka, Dec 24: The death toll in the ferry fire incident on Sugandha river in the southern district of Jhalakathi early on Friday has risen to 38 .
According to the officials, the death toll is likely to rise as many passengers sustained burn injuries when a fire swept through the Barguna-bound MV Obhijan after midnight.
“We recovered 38 bodies so far. The death toll may rise further. Many passengers also have gone missing after the incident,” said Fire service Deputy Director Kamal Hossain Bhuiyan.
“More than 70 passengers have been sent to the local hospitals. The fire is believed to have originated in the engine room and then ripped through the launch packed with people,” he added.
The incident happened early in the morning, near the southern rural town of Jhakakathi, 250 kilometres south of the capital Dhaka.
The catastrophe was the latest in a series of such mishaps in the delta nation, which is crisscrossed by rivers.
Poor maintenance, inadequate safety regulations at shipyards, and overcrowding are the reasons behind such incidents according to the experts in the country of 170 million people.
