About 100 people were missing today after a launch capsized in southern Bangladesh following a collision with a cargo vessel, police said.
The ferry was carrying more than 150 passengers when it sank in Kirtonkhola river in Barisal district, nearly 170km from Dhaka.
The body of one of the victims was found, while about 50 passengers were either rescued or managed to swim to safety, police officer Nuruzzaman Chowdhury said.
He said the cargo vessel involved in the collision had been seized.
"We are trying to locate the sunken ferry," Mr Chowdhury said.
Ferry accidents kill hundreds of people and leave many unaccounted for in Bangladesh every year, and families of the victims are not compensated.
Officials said some of the passengers had boarded the launch on Thursday without buying tickets -- something common across Bangladesh where many river accidents occur due to overloading and inexperience or negligence of the crew.
Reuters