More than 170 feared dead as storms lash Bangladesh

FERRY VICTIM: Rescue workers carry a body pulled out of a sunken ferry at Alipur near the Bangladesh capital Dhaka. At least 92 bodies have been pulled out of one of two ferries that sank during a storm near the capital on Monday. More than 170 people were feared dead after two ferries capsized and houses collapsed in severe storms, police and reports said on Tuesday.

Dhaka (Agence France-Presse): More than 170 people were feared dead in Bangladesh after two ferries capsized and houses collapsed in severe storms, police and reports said on Tuesday.

The toll included at least 92 people who died when a ferry sank in the Buriganga river, while another 52 were missing after a boat carrying a wedding party capsized in the Kishoreganj district.

News reports on Tuesday also said at least 35 people were killed and 400 injured by lightning strikes, collapsing houses, falling trees and the sinking of small boats during the storms in several Bangladeshi districts.

The MV Mitali, a double-deckef ferry, had between 200 and 300 passengers on board when it went down during fierce rain storms on Monday in the Buriganga river.

"We have now recovered 92 bodies and rescue work is continuing," said a police officer in the Fatullah area in nearby Narayanganj, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of capital Dhaka, where the vessel sank.

"The death toll will definitely go up after the ferry is salvaged as some are trapped inside the vessel," he told AFP, declining to give his name, as rescue vessels and divers tried to cut through the steel body of the vessel.

Another police officer, Abdul Aziz, said other victims may have been swept away by swirling water.

"We can only say about the number we have counted," he said.

Hundreds of wailing relatives crowded the bank of the Buriganga as rescue work continued, local reporters said.

The exact number of passengers on board at the time of the sinking may never be known as the boat did not keep a list, a common omission in Bangladesh.

Survivor Monir Hossain said the passengers had told the skipper to take shelter as soon as winds started to rock the ferry, but he had ignored them, only heading for shore when the full storm hit.

"I tried to swim out but my pants were caught on a hook ... I quickly let my pants go and swam to safety," he told reporters at the scene.

Meanwhile, 52 people were missing after another ferry accident late on Monday in the northern Kishoreganj district, 80 kilometers from Dhaka.

"There were at least 85 people, all of a bridal party, on the small ferry and 52 are missing," Priyotash Shaha, the local administrative chief, told AFP by telephone.