DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — The death toll from a weekend ferry capsize in Bangladesh rose to 34 on Tuesday after rescuers and villagers recovered nine more bodies from waters outside the nation’s capital, an official said.
Local chief government administrator Nahida Barik said the additional bodies were found from Sunday’s capsize of the passenger ferry ML Rabit Al Hasan.
It was unclear whether any more people remained missing because ferry owners do not always keep formal passenger lists.
The ferry sank after being hit by a cargo vessel in the Shitalakkhya River in Narayanganj district, just outside Dhaka.
The double-decker ferry was traveling to neighboring Munshiganj district with more than 50 passengers when the accident took place.
Authorities blamed the oil-laden cargo vessel with hitting the ferry and ordered an investigation.
Ferry accidents are common and are often blamed on overcrowding and lax rules in Bangladesh, which is crisscrossed by about 130 rivers. Ferries are a leading means of transportation in the delta nation of 160 million people.
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