Bangladesh rescuers struggle to find sunken ferry

Rescuers were struggling on Tuesday to locate a sunken ferry that was overloaded and carrying hundreds of passengers when it capsized in a river in central Bangladesh, leaving at least two people dead and probably many more.

After the M.V. Pinak sank late Monday morning, at least 44 passengers swam safely to shore, but it was unclear on Tuesday how many were missing. The head of Bangladesh’s water transport authority said about 50 people were unaccounted for, while local administrators received a list of 116 missing people from relatives and villagers.

A salvage ship reached the accident site in the River Padma on Tuesday, but strong currents and high waves were preventing a rescue operation from being launched, said Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan.

“The ferry went out of control due to winds and currents, tilting from one side to the other,” said a survivor. “Then the captain jumped out because he probably understood it was sinking. The river was rough, and there were many passengers on board.”