Another river vessel sinks in Bangladesh

A barge carrying rice sank in strong currents today at the same place where the navy found a river ferry that went down last week and left more than 500 dead, officials said.

A barge carrying rice sank in strong currents today at the same place where the navy found a river ferry that went down last week and left more than 500 dead, officials said.

HT Image

The barge, loaded with 400 metric tons (440 U.S tons) of rice, sank after hitting rocks on the riverbank near Chandpur town, 55 kilometers southeast of the capital, Dhaka. All nine crew members survived by swimming to shore, said the barge's captain, Akhtar Hossain.

The barge and passenger ferry sank at the turbulent meeting point of three rivers - the Padma, Meghna and Dakatia.

Also today, a Bangladeshi navy ship using sonar located the sunken passenger ferry's wreckage, but workers were unable to salvage the craft that capsized in choppy waters on July 8.