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At least 24 people, mostly children and women, were killed on Sunday when a boat carrying Hindu worshippers heading for a century-old temple in a river in northwestern Bangladesh capsized, officials said.
The death toll is expected to rise further as at least 25 people remain missing following the incident in Bangladesh’s Panchagarh district.
At the auspicious start of the Durga Puja festival, devotees were heading to the Bodeshwari temple when the boat capsized in the Korotoa River.
“So far, about 24 people have died in the incident, including eight children and 12 women. Some of them were pronounced dead after being taken to a local hospital,” said Panchagarboda street administrator Soleiman Ali told reporters.
Firefighters and local divers were looking for the missing persons, he said, adding that the number of passengers was estimated to be between 70 and 80.
Some survivors who managed to swim ashore participated in the rescue operation.
Ali said the engine-powered boat was carrying Hindu devotees to the centuries-old Bodeshwari temple.
Panchagargh’s administrative director or deputy commissioner Zahurul Haque said the ship was clearly carrying more passengers than it could carry.
Thousands of Hindus in Muslim-majority Bangladesh visit the Bodeshwari Temple every year during the Durga Puja held in Bangladesh every year.
President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate statements to express their condolences to the families of the victims.
Local officials were asked to take steps for the treatment of survivors and compensation for the dead.
Durga Puja is the largest Hindu festival in Bangladesh and eastern India.
Delta Bangladesh is crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers, and hundreds of people die every year in Bangladesh in boat and ferry accidents, mostly due to overcrowding.
In May, an overcrowded speedboat collided with a sand-laden bulk carrier and sank on the Padma River, killing 26 people.
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