Heavy rain and swift currents put a halt to a search on Thursday for about 400 people missing and feared dead after an overloaded Bangladeshi ferry capsized, the latest in a series of such disasters.
"There is little hope of resuming the search today as it is still raining heavily, with an occasional blast of wind," said an official supervising the rescue effort.
"Until suspended for the rainstorm, the efforts had been low-key, with navy divers unable to lay an anchor to begin an intensive search," said the official at Chandpur, 170 km (106 miles) southeast of Dhaka.
"I doubt the sky will be clear enough before nightfall to allow divers and volunteers to go back to the scene."
The M.V. Nasreen nosedived into the turbulent Meghna river near Chandpur town around midnight on Tuesday, while many of its passengers were asleep after departing from the capital, Dhaka.
Navy divers failed to reach the ferry, which is believed to under 60 m (200 feet) of water and may have been dragged downstream by strong currents.
A navy official on the scene said divers were scanning the river bed with metal finders before rain drove them to shore.
{{/usCountry}}A navy official on the scene said divers were scanning the river bed with metal finders before rain drove them to shore.
{{/usCountry}}Crowds of grieving relatives lined the banks of the Meghna, their hopes for survivors all but extinguished, though they waited to identify bodies.
"I am holding my breath, still hoping he will be found," said Babul, whose five-year-old son is missing.
An anxious mother, Fatima Begum, said, "I will not leave until the ferry is retrieved. My son may be inside it."
A Reuters television cameraman said after visiting the site that the search never got off to a full start because of fierce currents and giant whirlpools.
In several previous shipwrecks, the search for survivors had to be abandoned for similar reasons, leaving the vessels and most of their passengers unaccounted for.
EXACT NUMBER UNKNOWN
Three bodies were found on Wednesday and one injured passenger died in hospital. Two more bodies were seen floating down the river on Thursday, but could not be retrieved due to the strong currents, local reporters said.
About 200 people were rescued by fishing boats or managed to reach shore, police and officials said.
The exact number of passengers on the ferry was not known and may never be determined because ferry operators typically do not keep accurate passenger manifests.
Ferry accidents kill hundreds of people every year in Bangladesh, a poor country of 130 million people crisscrossed by major river systems. But authorities have been unable to stop the tragedies, which they blame on overcrowding, poor vessel construction and lax enforcement of safety rules.
Bangladeshis, who have grown all too accustomed to chronic floods, horrific typhoons and other disasters, seem to shrug off the ferry accidents as just another fact of life and so the serial sinkings never become a big political issue.
Non-government organisations, which have considerable influence in a country dependent on foreign aid, have not stepped in, either.
"We are concerned about the disasters and advocate safety but cannot lead a delegation to the government for this," said Tony Maryon, head of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Bangladesh.
Of the 20,000 ferries plying the many rivers and coastal waters of Bangladesh, only 8,000 are even registered and just 800 have fitness certificates, shipping officials say.
Many ferries operate well past serviceable age and take on passengers two to three times in excess of listed capacity.
"I have seen this happening year after year, with the same tragic tales being told again and again," one official at Chandpur told Reuters on Thursday.
Chandpur, 170 km (106 miles) from Dhaka by road, has been the scene of repeated ferry accidents.
Officials said the spot where the M.V. Nasreen sank was notorious, as it is at the confluence of three rivers -- the Meghna, the Padma and the Dakatia. Converging currents create a whirlpool effect, especially when the waters are high.