Bangladesh ferry toll reaches 38

Dhaka, May 17 (IANS) At least 10 more bodies were recovered from the ferry that sank Thursday in the Meghna river in Bangladesh, raising the toll to 38, police said Saturday.

The ferry carried anywhere between 250 to 300 passengers when it capsized in the Meghna river due to a storm near Munshiganj. Operations for the rescue and recovery of the missing people have been going on since then, authorities said.

"Another 10 missing bodies were recovered Saturday morning, which takes the number of total death toll to 38 from 28 Friday," Ferdous Hossain, officer-in-charge of Gajaria police station in Munsihganj district told Xinhua.

The ferry, Mirage-4, left Bangladesh's capital Dhaka for Shariatpur district when a nor'wester struck it.

Many passengers were able to swim ashore after the ferry capsized, Hossain said, but he could not immediately tell how many passengers were missing.

Hundreds of relatives of the ill-fated passengers Friday gathered at the accident site searching their missing kin.