CHANDPUR, Bangladesh: A river ferry carrying about 250 passengers capsized early yesterday during a tropical storm in southeastern Bangladesh and many are feared dead, police said.

Three other ferries also sank, although those on board were believed to be safe.

Many of the passengers on the capsized double-deck ferry were asleep when the accident occurred and were believed to have been trapped inside, said Mohammad Dulal Miah, a police officer at the scene.

Police said eight bodies - four of them children - had been recovered. Seven injured passengers were rescued from inside the vessel, and about 50 others were able to swim ashore, police said.

As it capsized in shallow water, the ferry turned upside down, leaving the bottom of the hull exposed, witnesses and authorities said.

"Even though the ferry sank close to shore, the river is turbulent here and it is hampering the rescue work," Miah said.

The ferry, which was travelling to the capital, Dhaka, from Madaripur district, sank in the Meghna River near the town of Chandpur, about 65 kilometres southeast of Dhaka.

"Many of us woke up as high winds jolted the vessel," said Omar Ali, one of the survivors in Chandpur. "People panicked and began screaming for help."

Ali said he and some others jumped into the river in the darkness and swam safely to the river bank as the vessel's pilot tried unsuccessfully to run the sinking ferry ashore.

A government rescue vessel, Rustam, finally reached the scene of the sinking after heavy rains had disrupted rescue work for several hours in the morning.

Shipping Minister Akbar Hossain and senior government officials were also at the scene.

The three other ferries all went down during the storm yesterday, private TV station ATN Bangla reported.

One small boat also sank in the Meghna River in another part of Chandpur district. All those on board swam to shore or were rescued by fishing boats.

The two others, also small boats, capsized in the Padma River in Manikganj district, 25 kilometres northwest of Dhaka. The passengers were safe, according to TV reports.

Ferry accidents are common in this South Asian nation which is crisscrossed by rivers. A ferry capsized in Chandpur during a storm in July last year, killing more than 500 people.

Many storms have swept through Bangladesh, a nation of 140 million people, around this time of the year.

Rainstorms wreaked havoc in southern Bangladesh late Friday, collapsing houses and toppling trees and electricity poles, a newspaper reported. It said at least 12 people were killed while more than 200 were injured by the falling debris.

Agencies via Xinhua

(China Daily 05/24/2004 page1)