DHAKA, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a bus that plunged into the Padma River, Bangladesh, on Wednesday has risen to 26, a senior official said Thursday.
The incident occurred at a ferry terminal in Bangladesh's Rajbari district, about 125 kilometers south of Dhaka.
Sultana Akhtar, Rajbari's deputy commissioner and district magistrate, told Xinhua over the mobile phone that there were around 40 passengers on board the bus.
"So far, the bodies of 26 people, including 11 women and seven children, have been retrieved," she said.
The accident occurred at around 5:15 p.m. local time on Wednesday when the Dhaka-bound passenger bus lost control, overturned, and sank to an estimated depth of 80 feet, according to the Fire Service.
Officials said two bodies were recovered shortly after the bus capsized on Wednesday. Subsequently, they said the rescue vessel Hamza lifted the submerged bus at 11:50 p.m. local time on Wednesday, during which 24 more bodies were found gradually.
Several witnesses told local television channels that only 10 to 11 passengers managed to swim ashore.
Akhtar said search and rescue operations for the bus that plunged into the Padma River will continue from Friday morning again after being temporarily suspended for Thursday night.
She also said an investigation into the cause of the accident is underway.■
