Dozens killed in Bangladesh ferry fire

Police say at least 37 bodies recovered after three-storey vessel caught fire on Friday morning

A frame grab from an AFPTV video shows a ferry that caught fire in Jhalokathi district in southern Bangladesh early on December 24, 2021, killing at least 37 people. AFP

The burnt passenger ferry is anchored on the bank of Sugandha River. Reuters

A relative of a ferry fire victim mourns at a government hospital in Barishal, Bangladesh. AP Photo

A girl rescued from the ferry fire gets treatment in Barishal, Bangladesh. AP Photo

Survivors of the ferry fire at a government medical hospital in Barishal, Bangladesh. AP Photo

A man consoles a relative who was unable to find his 5-year-old son who was aboard the ferry which caught fire. Officials said only about 100 of the several hundred people thought to be aboard the vessel had been sent to hospitals. AP Photo

Firefighters and coast guards collect body bags of victims of the ferry fire near the southern rural town of Jholakathi, about 250 kilometres south of Dhaka. EPA

At least 37 people died on Friday when a packed ferry caught fire in southern Bangladesh, police said.

The latest maritime tragedy to hit the south Asian nation took place in a river in Jhalokathi district, about 250 kilometres south of the the capital, Dhaka.

"The three-storey Obhijan 10 caught fire mid-river. We have recovered 37 bodies. The death toll may rise. Most died from the fire and a few by drowning after they jumped into the river," local police chief Moinul Islam told AFP.

Mr Islam said the fire was believed to have originated in the engine room and then ripped through the ferry packed with people returning home from Dhaka. Despite having an official capacity of 310 the vessel was carrying at least 500 people, many of who were returning home from the capital.

"We have sent some 100 people with burn injuries to the hospitals in Barisal," he said.

Witnesses said the fire originated at around 3am and spread quickly.

"We were sleeping on a mat on the ground floor deck. All the passengers were sleeping. My nine-year-old grandson, Nayeem, was with me, he jumped into the river. I don't know what happened to him," said an elderly woman.

Other survivors said they saw a small fire in the engine room as soon as the packed ferry set off from the Sadarghat river station in Dhaka at 9pm on Thursday.

"A lot of people ran for safety as the fire spread. A lot of people could not get out of their cabins where they were sleeping. Many jumped into the river," said another survivor at Barisal Medical College Hospital.

Johar Ali, the local district administrator, said rescuers arrived at the scene within an hour after the fire broke out and rushed the injured to nearby hospitals.

"We spoke to passengers. And they said there were between 500 and 700 passengers," he told AFP.

"The fire went on for four or five hours before it was doused. The entire [ferry] has been gutted. But they managed to bring it to the shore," he said.

Local television showed images of burnt motorcycles and gutted cabins inside the boat.

Survivors and their relatives crowded the shore as fire service and coast guard divers scoured the muddy waters for bodies.

Experts blame poor maintenance, lax safety standards at shipyards and overcrowding for the ferry disasters that occur frequently in the delta country criss-crossed by rivers.

In August at least 21 people were killed when a boat packed with passengers and a sand-laden cargo ship collided in a lake in eastern Bangladesh.

The boat was reportedly carrying some 60 passengers when the cargo ship's steel bow slammed into the other vessel near the town of Bijoynagar.

Vessels transporting sand sit low in the water and can be hard to see in choppy conditions, particularly in poor lighting.

In April and May, 54 people were killed in two separate accidents.

In June last year, a ferry sank in Dhaka after it was hit from behind by another ferry, killing at least 32 people.

In February 2015, at least 78 people died when an overcrowded ship collided with a cargo vessel.

Fires are also a regular cause of tragedy in Bangladesh. In July, 52 people perished in a blaze in a food and beverage factory in Rupganj, an industrial town outside Dhaka.

At least 70 people died in February 2019 when fire tore through Dhaka apartments where chemicals were stored illegally.