Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Death toll of Tuesday’s launch capsize in the Meghna River in the country’s central Munshiganj district rose to 110 as 74 more bodies found on Wednesday.
The bodies of 74 passengers found as rescuers recovered the sunken the launch MV Shariatpur-1 from 70 feet deep water, according to reports.
The launch capsized in Meghna river around 2:30am on Tuesday after a cargo vessel hit it at Char Kishori in Gazaria upazila (sub-district) of the district.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) authorities announced closure of the salvage campaign around 5:00pm. It however started rescue operation again half an hour later in search of more bodies.
The closure of the rescue operations came hours after the ill-fated Shariatpur-1 was salvaged and towed to the river bank while officials said all the bodies recovered on Wednesday were inside the vessel while the 36 bodies retrieved on Tuesday were found floating in the river around the accident site at Gazaria area of suburban Munshiganj.
Munshiganj Deputy Commissioner Azizul Alam told reporters Wednesday afternoon that the district administration prepared a list of 61 missing people after bring informed from their relatives.
Earlier, MV Rustom, a salvage vessel of the BIWTA, rushed in on Tuesday and traced the vessel about 70 feet deep into the water.
Both Hamza and Rustom jointly started operation in the morning to salvage the sunken vessel and dragged it 600 feet towards the shore around 10:20am.
Hamza and Rustom pulled out the launch from the river around 3:15pm. Many bodies were trapped inside MV Shariatpur-1 when it was lifted from the water.
BBN/SSR/SI-14Mar12-7:50 pm (BST)
