Sharjah24 – AFP: Rescue workers recovered 26 more bodies on Monday after a boat carrying religious pilgrims capsized in Bangladesh, taking the death toll to 51 with at least a dozen people still missing, police said.
The small boat packed mostly with women and children on their way to a popular temple flipped over on Sunday in a river as onlookers screamed from the shore.
The incident near the remote northern town of Boda was the latest in a string of similar tragedies blamed on poor maintenance and overcrowding in the low-lying delta country.
Regional police chief Sirajul Huda said fire service and navy divers recovered 26 bodies in the Karotoa River downstream from where the boat tipped over.
It was carrying around 90 people, of whom around 50 were pilgrims on their way to the centuries-old Hindu temple for a major festival, according to police.
Police said they have lowered the number of missing people as some have reported that they have found relatives who had swum to safety.
Local media said at least 10 people had been rescued and sent to hospital.
Mobile phone footage aired by TV station Channel 24 showed the overcrowded boat suddenly flipping over, spilling the passengers into the muddy brown river.
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