Rescuers recovered three bodies after a boat carrying 70 people capsized on Thursday in rough weather off Bangladesh's Chittagong coast, police said.
The boat was travelling from the island town of Sandwip to Chiitagong, a port city 216 kilometers south of national capital Dhaka, a local police official said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
The official police were using speed boats and fishing trawlers to search for survivors or more bodies.
He said it was unclear how many people survived or were missing.
Mohammad Badiuzzaman, a volunteer at Bangladesh Red Crescent Society - the Islamic equivalent of Red Cross - said the sea was choppy when the boat went town in what is known as Sandwip Channel in the Bay of Bengal.
He said Red Crescent volunteers joined police and local fishermen in the rescue work.