Officials said at least 24 people were killed on Sunday. After a boat carrying Hindu devotees to a centuries-old temple capsized in a river in northwestern Bangladesh.
As a result, the death toll is expected to rise further. At least 25 people are still missing in Bangladesh’s Panchagarh district.
The boat capsized in the Korotoa River as the devotees made their way to the Bodeshwari Temple for Mahalaya, the promising start of the Durga Puja festival.
“So far, 24 people have died in the incident, including eight children and 12 women.” “After being transported to a nearby hospital, some of them were declared dead,” said Solaiman Ali, administrative chief of Panchagarh’s Boda sub-district.
He stated that firefighters and local divers conducted searches for the missing. The estimated number of passengers was between 70 and 80.
Some survivors who managed to swim ashore are helping with the rescue efforts.
According to Ali, the engine-powered boat transported Hindu devotees to the centuries-old Bodeshwari Temple.
According to Panchagarh’s administrative chief or deputy commissioner Zahurul Haque, the boat was carrying passengers over its capacity.
Every year during the Durga Puja, which begins on Sunday in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, thousands of Hindus visit the Bodeshwari Temple.
President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed their condolences to the victims’ families in separate statements.
Local officials were asked to take action to help survivors and compensate the deceased.
Durga Puja is the most important Hindu festival in Bangladesh and eastern India.
Hundreds of rivers crisscross deltaic Bangladesh, and hundreds of people are killed each year in boat and ferry accidents in Bangladesh, primarily due to overcrowding.
In May, a crowded speed boat collided with a sand-laden bulk carrier and sank on the Padma River, killing 26 people.