At least 100 people are reported dead and more remain missing after a ferry sunk in Bangladesh yesterday with about 200 passengers onboard. The crowded Shariatpur 1 capsized after being struck by an oil barge while crossing the Meghna River, about 25 miles southeast of Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka.

There was an immediate confirmed death total of 36 on Tuesday following the accident. Divers have now recovered 74 more bodies, bringing the current death toll to 110 victims. The double-decker ferry sunk to the river's bottom after being hit in the early morning hours, around 2:30 a.m. Only about 30 of the 200 people onboard were able to swim ashore after the sinking. As of now, 40 of the 110 bodies have been identified and their bodies have been released to family members.

Two rescue vessels were able to lift the sunken ferry from the river bed and make its way towards shore, where it was kept for several hours. It was then lifted from the water completely in the late afternoon.

According to Fox News, the exact number of people on the ferry was uncertain as manifest lists are seldom maintained properly in Bangladesh and many travelers buy their tickets when on board. Hundreds of families and friends of the missing are waiting at the edge of the river for another day, and survivors have begun telling their recap of the chaos.

The Inland Water Transport Authority said the vessel, which was built in 1991, appeared to have sunk rapidly after the collision. An investigation has been ordered. Overcrowded and unregulated ferries often run in to trouble on low-lying Bangladesh's extensive network of rivers and waterways. Hundreds of people are killed in accidents every year, reports Reuters. 

IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu has offered his condolences and sympathies to the families of all those who lost their life aboard the passenger ferry Shariatpur-1, which sank yesterday (13 March 2011) after being hit by a small cargo ship in the Meghna River, south-west of the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka. 

Speaking to the Organization's Sub-Committee on Radiocommunications and Search and Rescue (COMSAR), in session, the Secretary-General also expressed the solidarity of IMO, at these difficult times, with the Government of Bangladesh. He reiterated IMO's readiness to respond to any request from Bangladesh for assistance for technical co-operation.

This latest incident comes in the wake of the Costa Concordia incident earlier this year, in the aftermath of which the Secretary-General included an item on "Passenger ship safety" on the agenda of the Maritime Safety Committee. He also urged the Italian Maritime Administration to carry out its investigation into the casualty and to report its findings to IMO as soon as possible.

Furthermore, following the sinking in February of the MV Rabaul Queen and upon request of the Government of Papua New Guinea, a team of two IMO officers have carried out a needs assessment mission to assist the Government of Papua New Guinea in improving its safety system.

The Secretary-General also reminded the Sub-Committee of IMO's on-going project on domestic ferry safety and related technical co-operation activities undertaken by the Organization. He referred specifically to a regional forum on domestic ferry safety held in Bali, Indonesia in December last year, which adopted an eight-point action plan. 

http://www.imo.org/OurWork/TechnicalCooperation/TCActivities/Pages/Domestic-Ferry-Safety.aspx 

He indicated that IMO is ready to carry out further technical co-operation activities related to the domestic ferry safety project.

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