DHAKA: At least 11 persons were killed and several others went missing when a boat carrying around 100 passengers caught fire and capsized in a river in northeastern Bangladesh, police said on Tuesday.
The boat packed with a group of laborers and their children, who were returning home from a stone quarry, caught fire on the Surma River in Chhatak town when a kerosene stove on the boat sparked the fire on Monday night.
“They jumped into the river in panic. We have so far recovered 11 bodies who were badly burnt. More than 60 people either swam ashore or were rescued alive,” said local police chief Harunur Rashid.
Rashid further said that the death toll is expected to rise as the rescue team is scouring the river for those still missing including many children.
