DHAKA: At least 46 people died in northeastern Bangladesh today after a ferry capsized and sank, police said, the second such accident in the impoverished nation in a week.

Police chief of Kishorganj district, Anwar Hossain, said the passenger ferry sank on the Daira river, around 100 kilometres north of Dhaka, at about 0230 GMT.

“Most victims are women and children,” Hossain said, adding that 46 bodies had been retrieved and the ferry had been fully searched with the aid of specialist divers. Shah Kamal, the chief government official in Kishorganj district, told AFP the exact number of passengers was unclear but they estimated about 100 passengers were on board when the vessel went down.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sent condolences to families of the victims and urged authorities to step up the rescue operation, spokesman Mahbubul Haque Shakil told AFP.

“She has conveyed her sympathies to the families of the victims and the premier also directed the local authorities to enhance the rescue mission,” he said. Boat and ferry accidents due to lax safety standards and overloading are common in Bangladesh.