Bangladesh boat capsizing: At least 32 Durga Puja pilgrims dead

Picture source - AFP

Death toll from Sunday’s boat capsizing incident in Bangladesh has reached 32 with scores still missing.

According to foreign media reports, the boat was carrying more than 90 religious pilgrims including women and children. The pilgrims were on their way to a popular temple when the boat flipped in the river.

“Seven bodies were found in the Karotoa River downstream from where the boat capsized near the town of Boda; It carried around 90 people,” the local police said on Sunday.

According to the district police chief Sirajul Huda sixty people were still missing as the boat was carrying three times its capacity. He further told that it had been raining heavily in the morning, therefore, pilgrims attempted to reach the temple urgently, which overcrowded the boad.

He also said that people were asked to disembark so that the weight load could be eased but no one listened.

According to a video, the boat had suddenly flipped, throwing passengers into the river. According to media reports, at least 10 people had been rescued.

The centuries old Bodeshwari temple is visited by the Hindu pilgrims by thousands of Hindu pilgrims every year. The start of Durga Puja on Sunday had drawn huge crowds for participation.