(ANSA) - DACCA, DECEMBER 24 - At least 32 people have died today in the fire of a ferry on a river in southern Bangladesh, police said. "The three-story Obhijan 10 caught fire in the middle of the river. We recovered 32 bodies. The death toll could rise. Most died in the fire and some drowned after jumping into the water," the local police chief said. Moinul Islam.
The tragedy took place in the early morning in the vicinity of the town of Jhalokathi, 250 km south of the capital Dhaka.
The incident is the latest in a series of similar disasters in the flat country located around a delta formed by multiple rivers.
Experts from this South Asian nation of 170 million people point out the lack of maintenance, lax safety standards and the overcrowding of ferries.
(HANDLE).