Dozens missing as Bangladesh ferry sinks

Dhaka: A ferry packed with about 100 people capsized on Friday in a river in central Bangladesh after colliding with another boat, police and news reports said.[caption id="attachment_618385" align="alignleft" width="380"] A file photo of a crowded ferry in Bangladesh. AFP[/caption]Police said there were no immediate reports of casualties after the ferry, MV Sarash, went down on the River Meghna in Munshiganj district, 32 kilometers south of Dhaka.The private television station Channel-I said local villagers rescued more than 40 people after the accident. Several other people were able to swim to shore, the report said.The ferry was on a local run from Narayanganj city to Matlab in the south.Ferry accidents are common in Bangladesh, a delta nation of 153 million people.In March, 2011, 147 people were killed when a passenger vessel sank in the Meghna river after colliding with a cargo ship.In December, 2009, 46 people drowned in Daira river in northeastern district of Kishorganj after a ferry capsized and sank.With agency inputs