At least 24 people have died after a passenger bus carrying around 40 passengers plunged into the Padma River in Bangladesh. The passengers were en route from Kushtia to Dhaka, an official of Daulatdia River Police Outpost told Dhaka Tribune.
The incident occurred in the evening on Wednesday when a bus of Souhard Paribahan lost control while approaching a ferry at terminal number 3 at Daulatdia in the Rajbari district, approximately 100 km from Dhaka. The bus overturned and sank nearly 30 feet (9 m) into the river, the police, the Fire Service, and Civil Defence announced.
Rescue Operation Underway
According to a Prothom Alo report, the Rajbari district administration formed a five-member high-level investigation committee late on Wednesday night.
The Deccan Chronicle reported that Bangladesh’s rescue vessel Hamza managed to pull the submerged bus out of the river nearly six hours after the accident. While only parts of the vehicle were visible around 11:15 pm, the entire bus was lifted out of the water by a crane by 11:30 p.m.
Rescuers managed to recover 22 bodies from inside the submerged bus, including six men, eleven women, and five children, Talha Bin Zasim, a Fire Service official, said.
Twenty-four people are confirmed to be dead so far, including two women who died after being rescued, he added.
Four Fire Service units and ten divers were dispatched to lead the search and rescue efforts, supported by the army, police, coast guard, and local authorities.
Officials fear more passengers may still be missing. One survivor reported to the Deccan Chronicle that he had managed to swim to safety but lost his wife and child as the bus sank. Another survivor reported that he also swam ashore; however, his wife and child remain missing.
Bangladesh has a record of hundreds of people dying during road and ferry accidents each year.
(With inputs from Reuters)
