By Mir Afroz Zaman
Dhaka, At least 39 people were killed and more than 200 injured when a ferry packed with passengers caught fire on Sugandha river in Bangladesh's Jhalakathi district early on Friday, authorities said.
The incident took place near Gabkhan Dhanshiri area at about 3 am.
Several of the injured were rushed to the Barishal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital while the rest were sent to other hospitals.
Kamal Hossain Bhuiyan, Deputy Director of the Barishal Fire Service and Civil Defence, said five fire tenders battled the flames and that the death toll may go up further. Some of the injured were said to be in serious condition.
'MV Abhijan-10', carrying around 1,000 passengers, was on its way to Barguna from Dhaka. The engine room of the vessel suddenly caught fire, which soon engulfed the launch in the middle of the river.
As panic gripped the passengers, many jumped into the river and managed to swim ashore.
The ferry was later anchored to Ponabalia on the river bank. The Ministry of Shipping has formed an eight-member committee to probe the fire.
Tofail Ahmed, Joint Secretary of the Ministry, will be the Convener and Aminur Rahman, Deputy Secretary, the member Secretary of the committee.