Death toll in Bangladesh ferry sinking rises to 66

KISHORI CHAR: The death toll from a ferry sinking in Bangladesh rose to 66 on Wednesday as rescue workers found more bodies in the vessel that sank after being hit by an oil barge, police said.

Two rescue ships pulled the ferry close to the shore, allowing divers to search the decks where many passengers were trapped, district police chief Shahabuddin Khan told AFP.

"The death toll is now 66," he said, adding that divers feared that many more bodies were inside the vessel.

The packed Shariatpur 1 ferry capsized in the early hours of Tuesday morning after being hit when crossing the Meghna river, 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of the capital Dhaka.