1st LD: 30 confirmed dead in Bangladesh ferry fire: official

DHAKA. KAZINFORM At least 30 people were killed and 100 others injured after a ferry caught fire early Friday on a river in Bangladesh's Jhalokati district, about 200 km south of capital Dhaka, a senior official said.

Md Nazmul Alam, Jhalokati district's additional deputy commissioner, told Xinhua that the vessel was carrying some 1,000 people from capital Dhaka to Barguna district in southern Bangladesh when a fire broke out in its engine room at about 3:00 a.m. local time Friday due to technical glitch, Xinhua reports.

«Thirty bodies have so far been recovered following the accident,» he told Xinhua over the phone.

Most of the passengers were asleep when the accident occurred, said the official.

He said a search operation is still underway for the unknown number of people missing.

«We've come to know that the ferry was carrying about 1,000 passengers,» he said, adding that the boat has been dragged to the bank.