Over 100 people are missing and presumed dead after a ferry crossing the Padma River in central Bangladesh capsized Monday morning. Local media outlets estimate that there were at least 250 people on board when bad weather struck the river, causing
the vessel to overturn.
The ferry was heading from an inland station to the city of Mawa. Samsuddoha Khondaker, chairman of Bangladesh's Inland Water Transport Authority, spoke with the New York Times, saying that after the vessel capsized, it "had come to rest on the riverbed, about 80 feet below the surface."
The number of people on board the ferry when it sank is difficult to determine; ferry captains rarely maintain passenger lists, and the boat was crowded with people traveling home from their villages after the end of the Eid holiday. It is not uncommon for boats and trains to overcrowd and carry more people than they can hold. A ferry carrying the same number of people capsized in May, killing over 50 people.
Family members of those returning to Mawa stood on the shores while rescue efforts began. According to a report in the Associated Press, authorities were still waiting for a larger vessel to launch the rescue efforts over four hours after the ferry sank