15 killed after Bangladesh ferry accident
Fifteen people died on Monday when an overcrowded ferry carrying migrant workers home for the Eid-ul-Fitr festival hit a goods boat near the Bangladeshi capital, police said.
Rescuers workers called off the search operation after the sunken vessel was salvaged from the Meghna River in the central Narayanganj district about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the capital Dhaka.
"According to the other passengers no-one is still missing. The rescue operation has been called off," said police inspector Nirmalendu Bikash Chakraborty.
Police said earlier they feared up to 60 people had been killed but officers said they now believed all but 15 had managed to swim ashore.
The ferry was carrying about 150 people to the western town of Comilla when it collided with the cargo vessel and sank.
Meanwhile, ten people were killed and 50 injured on Monday in a head-on collision between two buses in the central Gazipur district.
The buses were travelling in opposite directions between the northern town of Mymensingh and Dhaka when they collided at Maona town, about 50 kilometres (31 miles) north of the capital, said police sub-inspector Rafiqul Islam.
Bus and ferry accidents are common in Bangladesh due to poor safety standards and overloading, especially in the run-up to major festivals and holidays.
Millions of people have been on the move in Bangladesh since late last week, when migrant workers began to leave the country's main cities to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr with friends and family in their home villages.
Bangladesh is expected to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramazan, on Tuesday.
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