Hundreds were on board when a fire broke out in a river near the city of Jakakathi, about 250 km south of the capital, Dhaka. At least 39 people were killed and more than 70 were injured.
The ferry’s owner was arrested on Monday after a court issued an arrest warrant for eight people, including the captain.
Police believe the fire started in the engine room – where there was no fire extinguisher. It took two hours to get the fire under control by firefighters and 15 fire engines got there.
According to survivors who spoke to police, the driver must have continued to drive the ship after the engine room caught fire.
– If the ferry stopped and docked immediately, it would have saved all these precious lives, Mahbubour Rahman in the police tells AFP.
This incident is the latest in a series of similar incidents affecting the country’s river system. Experts blame many accidents on boats that are not well maintained, that safety is not sufficiently taken into account and that a large number of passengers are taken on board.
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