DHAKA: At least 43 people died in northeastern Bangladesh Friday after a ferry capsized and sank, police said, the second such accident in the impoverished nation in a week.

The police chief of Kishorganj district, Anwar Hossain, said the passenger ferry sank on the Daira river, around 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of the capital Dhaka, at about 9:30 a.m. (0230 GMT).

"We have so far found 43 bodies," Hossain said. "We are unsure exactly how many people were on board. Hundreds are gathering on the side of the river. Rescue operations are still on."

Shah Kamal, the chief government official in Kishorganj district, told AFP that children were among the victims.

"Some of the bodies we have found are of children," he said. "We are estimating that the ferry was carrying around 100 passengers and the rescue mission is ongoing," he said via telephone from the scene.

Boat and ferry accidents due to lax safety standards and overloading are common in Bangladesh, which is criss-crossed by 230 rivers.

More than 3,000 people are estimated to have lost their lives in such accidents since 1977.

At least 85 people drowned last Friday when an over-loaded triple-decker ferry in southern Bangladesh capsized.

Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan said after that capsize it was probably caused by a stampede of passengers during ticket checking.

The MV Coco-4, one of the country's largest inland vessels, was full of people travelling from cities to their home villages for the Muslim holy festival of Eid al-Azha last Saturday.

Police called off the search for more bodies on Friday morning, almost a week after the accident.

The government said last week it had filed a case against Tareque Rahman and Arafat Rahman Coco, sons of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, as owners of the vessel.