AT least 39 people are dead after a huge fire ripped through a crowded ferry this morning as the passengers slept.
The vessel carrying 800 burst into flames at 3am today while traveling through the Sugandha river in southern Bangladesh near the capital Dhaka.
Survivors leapt from the burning boat into the water while some of the victims drowned after escaping the inferno, officials said.
Local police chief Moinul Islam told reporters earlier he expects the death toll to rise.
He said: “The three-storey Obhijan 10 caught fire mid-river.
“The death count may rise. Most died from the fire and a few by drowning after they jumped into the river.”
Islam said authorities believe the blaze originated in the boat’s engine room and then ripped through rest of the vessel.
Fire officer Fazlul Haque said rescuers recovered 39 bodies and that the rescue mission is ongoing.
All of the 72 injured passengers were hospitalized, including seven with severe burns who were taken to a Dhaka hospital in critical condition.
He said the boat was crowded because many were returning to their homes to spend the weekend with their families and friends.
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Early reports say the majority of the passengers were asleep at the time when the ship caught fire.
Survivor Anisur Rahman told reporters: “I was sleeping on the deck and woke up hearing screams and a loud noise.
“To my utter shock, I saw thick smoke coming out from the back of the ferry. I jumped into the freezing water of the river in the thick fog like many other passengers and swam to the riverbank.”
Official Kamal Uddin reportedly said the ferry was carrying 800 passengers from Dhaka to Barguna nearly 155 miles to the south.
He said 15 fire engines took nearly two hours to control the blaze.
The ferry was brought to the shore after the flames was extinguished and fire crews spent eight more hours cooling it, he said.
Reports say the government has set up two committees to investigate the disaster and ordered them to report their findings in three days.
I was sleeping on the deck and woke up hearing screams and a loud noise
Survivor Anisur Rahman
Bangladesh is crisscrossed by about 130 rivers and ferries are a leading means of transportation, especially in the southern and northeastern regions.
Boat accidents are common and are often blamed on overcrowding and lax safety rules in the south Asian country which has a population of around 165 million people.
In August, at least 21 people were killed when a boat packed with passengers collided with a cargo ship in eastern Bangladesh, reports say.
That ship was reportedly carrying around 60 passengers when the cargo boat’s steel bow slammed into the other boat.
In April, 25 people died after a ferry collided with another vessel and capsized outside Dhaka.
