Dhaka, Nov 30 (DPA) The toll from a ferry accident in Bangladesh’s southern Bhola district rose to 71 Monday after rescuers retrieved more bodies trapped in the sunken vessel, officials said.
“The rescuers so far retrieved 71 bodies trapped inside the vessel and from the river,” district police chief S.M. Nazrul Islam said by phone.

He said the rescue operation was still on as several hundred people waited on the riverbank for word of their missing relatives.

“The search operation will continue until we are convinced that there are no persons missing,” he said, adding that the sunken ship was salvaged after three days of frantic efforts.

The overcrowded vessel sank in the Tentulia river near Nazirpur, some 150 km from here, early Saturday.

There were more than 1,500 people on board at the time, said Deputy District Commissioner Mesbahul Islam.