Bangladesh Ferry Sinks, Kills 31

A ferry packed with some 200 people collided with another vessel and capsized in a river in southern Bangladesh today, killing 31 people and leaving dozens more missing. About 35 people were rescued after the ferry sank on the Meghna River after colliding with a cargo boat early in the morning, a local police chief said. Divers have recovered 31 bodies from inside the sunken ferry. The dead included a young woman found cradling her baby's lifeless body.

"The death toll is likely to rise as more bodies are feared trapped inside," the police chief said. "We will get a better picture of the casualties once the sunken ferry is pulled out of the water." One diver said there were more bodies still inside the ferry, some buried under cargo. One survivor describes being "awakened with a jolt" as the ships collided. "I jumped into the river in the darkness as the ferry started going down. In minutes there were screams all around us." (More ferry stories.)