Fading daylight and strong winds were hampering a search operation, said Omar Faruk, a local police officer. The large motorized wooden boat was ferrying nearly 150 passengers to Sandwip Island off the port city of Chittagong when it capsized around noon, Faruk said. Passing boats in the busy shipping channel rescued at least 50 people, but seven bodies were found.
Ferry disasters are frequent in Bangladesh, a tropical delta nation of hundreds of rivers.
Bangladeshi laws provide for compensation to victims' families and prison terms for those responsible for ferry accidents. Penalties, however, are rarely enforced. Copyright 2001, The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP Online news report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Please read it.