New Delhi: The death toll due to the ferry fire in southern Bangladesh has surged to 37 and is likely to rise. According to a report by AFP, nearly 200 others were injured on Friday after a packed three-storey ferry carrying around 500 passengers caught fire on the Sugandha River in southern Bangladesh, officials said, in the latest maritime tragedy to hit the delta nation criss-crossed by rivers.

According to the report, the fire broke out around 3:00 am (local time) on Friday in the engine room of the Barguna-bound MV Abhijan-10 launch that started a journey from Dhaka.


"The authorities recovered the burnt bodies of at least 37 people after a fire broke out on a passenger launch on the Sugandha River in Jhalakathi, 250 kilometeres South of the capital Dhaka, The Dhaka Tribune reported.


The two hundred people left with burn injuries are currently undergoing treatment at local hospitals, said the police and fire service personnel, according to AFP.


The death toll is likely to rise as more passengers have been injured. Rescuers have recovered 37 bodies so far from the charred launch, Jhalakathi Deputy Commissioner Zohor Ali said.


As many as 72 people have been hospitalised with injuries, according to the Fire Service control room, bdnews24.com reported.


Many passengers jumped into the river in a desperate bid to save their lives as the fire raged for about three hours. Survivors say the launch was packed with passengers.


Kamal Uddin Bhuiyan, deputy director of the Barishal Fire Service who led the response, said they suspect the fire may have started in the launch's engine room.


"After receiving the information, 15 firefighting units led by Kamal Uddin Bhuiyan, deputy director of Barishal Division Fire Service and Civil Defence went to the scene at 3:50 am and brought the fire under control at 5:20 am," said a fire service control room statement.


 


The accident was the latest in a string of similar incidents in the low-lying delta country criss-crossed by rivers.


The AFP report also mentioned that the accident was the latest in a string of similar incidents in the delta country crisscrossed by rivers.


In July, 52 people perished in a blaze in a food and beverage factory in Rupganj, an industrial town outside Dhaka.


At least 70 people died in February 2019 when fire tore through Dhaka apartments where chemicals were illegally stored.


In August at least 21 people were killed when a boat packed with passengers and a sand-laden cargo ship collided in a lake in eastern Bangladesh.