DHAKA: At least 24 people were killed and several others remain missing after a bus plunged into a river in Bangladesh while attempting to board a transport ferry, officials said on Thursday.
The accident occurred in the southwestern district of Rajbari at the Dauladia terminal when the bus fell into the Padma River at about 5.15 pm on Wednesday, officials said.
They estimate that the Dhaka-bound bus was carrying around 40 passengers, including several children, most of whom were returning to the capital after their Eid holidays.
According to local fire service officials, 24 bodies have been recovered.
Twenty-two bodies were recovered from inside the bus, including 11 women, six men and five children.
“(Salvage vessel) Hamza retrieved the bus with its cranes,” fire service official Sohel Rana told reporters at the scene.
He added that the divers earlier recovered bodies of two women in their late 50s or early 60s and found the others as the bus was salvaged at around Wednesday midnight after six hours of efforts amid rough weather.
Fire service and coastguard divers continued their search for the missing people with military and police assistance, according to Rana.
According to Rajbari district administration officials, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman called them for updates on the salvage campaign and ordered an investigation into the accident.
Police and witnesses earlier said about 11 passengers managed to swim ashore or were rescued, but most others remained missing.
“When the bus was heading towards the ferry from the pontoon, another smaller utility ferry hit the pontoon. It plunged into the river as the bus driver lost control of the steering,” the terminal’s supervisor Monir Hossain said.
“Right before our eyes, the bus fell into the river, but we could do nothing,” he added.
Doctors at Dauladia Health Complex said two women were brought dead while another woman, herself a doctor, received treatment.
According to witnesses and officials, many of the passengers were members of the same family. While several of them survived as they stood outside, their relatives were on the bus as it drowned.